Let us do good to all people

From No More Patiently Waiting, by Saralee Perel, December 2012 Mature Focus

Saralee says....

Most veterinary practices have TVs in the waiting rooms.  Just like in an elevator where nobody acknowledges the other, everyone stares at that TV.

Our dog, Becky, is terrified at the vet's.   When I cuddled her the last time we were there, I could feel her shaking.  I saw other dogs crying and trembling while their owners tried to comfort them.  But did I offer a treat from my pocket or even pet them?  Nope.

There aren't many places where we're more connected to each other than in waiting rooms.  Yet when I'm in one, I keep to myself, hiding behind a magazine while pretending I can't hear the voices of people sitting next to me.  But the thing is - basically we're in these rooms for the same reasons.

In my neurologist's waiting room, we're all sitting there with various forms of paralysis. Why don't we speak to each other?

On one visit, when I was wearing my awful rock-solid Darth Vader style neck brace, I actually turned away from anybody who was wearing the same brace, intentionally avoiding eye contact.  It's not like we don't notice these huge dreadful appliances around our necks.  Yet we handle this strong group connection by isolating ourselves from one another.

Last week, I was in a dentist's waiting room while my husband, Bob, was having a tooth extracted.  This time I brought a book to use as a barricade.  Within a few feet of me, a young boy was crying.  "I'm scared," he said to his father.   So what did I do?  I kept reading.

And then I had that moment.  That once in a lifetime moment.  I made a change.  One from which I will never return.  I put my book down and whispered to them, "I'm the same way at dentist appointments.  A friend taught me to massage the skin between my left thumb and forefinger whenever I'm anxious."  I showed them what I meant.  Then I watched as the father cradled his son's hand and helped him to relax.

"It's working," the boy's dad said to me, as his son slowly stopped his rapid breathing and began yawning.

The next time I'm in a waiting room, I will not miss the opportunity to connect with another who's scared.  Many are just as frightened as I am, just as lonely, just as needful for a human, or dog connection.  From now on, I'm going to try to break through the isolation, and hopefully make it a tiny bit better - for patients, their families, their caregivers, their friends, for me, for Bob...and especially for Becky.

                                                     *
When I read this piece by Saralee, I could see myself as she wrote about how humans all tend to keep to ourselves in waiting rooms, and this is why I had to share this with you.  As God's own, we should all rethink how we behave and so reach out to others even as we wait in anxiousness.

We live in His strength as Believers, and so we can reach out in friendly ways to any others with the possibility of making a bridge to our Good News of the Gospel.  


So then,

while we have opportunity,

let us do good to all people,

and especially those who are of the household of faith.
Galatians 6:10