Learning To Wait

I went to have my teeth cleaned today.  It was my routine six month visit.  At first, I had to stay in the waiting room and fill out updated paperwork (do I have to fill this out every time I come?).  Finally, the hygienist escorted me to a dental chair in a corner room.  She placed a bib around my neck and then commenced to cleaning. 

Although I didn't have any cavities (I haven't had a cavity since childhood), it was still a tedious process being with the hygienist.  I sat patiently while she prodded, scraped, brushed, flossed and rinsed my teeth. Of course, she also vacuumed out the water with a continuous suction device which hung over my bottom lip.

The process was not overtly painful, but it dawned on me how "stuck" I was in the dentist chair.  I couldn't move, had to open and close my mouth at certain times and also, perhaps the hardest task, tried not to swallow saliva with all of the paraphernalia inserted in my mouth.  Overall, it was a helpless feeling.  You could say I was learning to "wait" while in the dentist chair.  As a matter of fact, this chair was located in the actual "waiting room", not the area where I had filled out paperwork earlier and scanned through uninspiring magazines.  Yet, I could only take comfort in the fact that this cleaning process would be short-lived.  Usually I leave the dental office in less than an hour.

Having cancer is also a helpless feeling.  Although patients can participate in the healing process by a positive attitude, in a sense, there is a limited amount of what a patient can do.  I personally was powerless.  I had to submit to major surgery, scans, lab tests, and chemotherapy.  Just as the powerless feeling in the dentist chair, I was immobile when I had cancer.  There was only so much I could do.  I kept waiting and praying for it to end.  Thank God it finally did.

The Bible also tells us of the value of waiting.  A familiar verse says, "Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired. They will walk and not become weary."  Isaiah 40:31 (NASB).  Although the word "wait" here could mean "rely on", still I have the image of someone "waiting" on God.  In other words, there is only so much you can do.  You must wait for God to act.

You want your cancer to go away?  Might need to wait on God.  In His timing, you'll gain new strength and the eagles' wings will eventually develop.