Patience, where for art thou?

Bob’s wife, Julie, paced the kitchen floor. “What are we going to do?”

Bob shrugged. He knew his wife was expecting an answer, but he didn’t have one.

“So, what, you’re just going to stand there and do nothing?”

“Yep,” came Bob’s reply. There was nothing he could do about the matter anyway. What was the point in getting all worked up when there was not a thing he could do but wait?

“What if it’s true, Bob?”

Again, Bob shrugged. No use guessing. What would be, would be.

“Bob!”

Bob sighed. Evidently Julie wasn’t going to shut up until he said something. “Sweetheart, there’s not a thing we can do but wait. What do you expect me to do?”

Julie stomped her foot. “I don’t know, but anything is better than sitting here!”

Bob was about to remind her that she was not just sitting there as evident by the sheen worn off the vinyl flooring, but thought better of it. No use making her even madder.

The timer on the microwave dinged. Julie looked at Bob. Bob looked at Julie.

“Well, Babe, it’s time.”

“You do it.”

Bob smiled. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I don’t think I can.”

Bob turned and walked toward the bathroom a few paces quicker than normal.

Thirty seconds later, he returned, a barely able to contain the grin on his face.

Julie gasped. “No!”

Bob responded by picking her up and twirling her around the room. “Yes, darling!”

Julie let out a squeal that would wake the dead. “Are you sure? It had two lines?”

Framing his wife’s face with his hands, the happy father-to-be looked into the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. “Yes, my love. You are gonna be a Momma!”

Those eyes instantly filled with tears. “But they said we couldn’t…”

“But God said we could, my love.”

********

So there is my off the top of my head story for the day. Patience has been on my mind lately. God always has such a great job at trying to get it through my thick skull that I have to be patient and wait for him.

As a mother of three, I can only half relate to the above. All four times I conceived a little TOO easily, but I know the struggle and grief many couples face when they try to have children and can’t. Some never do, but other’s are blessed, such as Elizabeth in the Bible, with that long awaited joy of little baby.

So where did MY patience come in? Oh, that would be the 3 long grueling minutes that are spent waiting, biting fingernails, for the results from that magic little wand. A plus or a minus, 2 lines or 1 line, or if you get all fancy these days, a “pregnant” or “not pregnant”.

I know, you are thinking about my ridiculously short patience level, and you are right on. I usually cheated and looked after 2 minutes. And I won’t tell you how I know that you can start to see a result after even one sometimes.

What I think is most funny is the patience of our husbands. Maybe your husband isn’t, but my husband is irritatingly patient. When I want to scream in frustration at a long wait, he just shrugs his shoulders and smiles. ARGH! I know God blessed me with him to help compensate for my lack there of.

So why is patience on my mind?

Writing involves a great amount of patience. I have to be patient while the story unfolds in my head and on paper. I have to be patient while I learn the ins and outs, the dos and don’ts of the writing world. I have to be patient while I tediously and persistently plug my work to people and attend conferences in hopes that some awesome agent/editor will be WOWED into accepting me into the realm that many people aspire to, but few will achieve.

It’s the realm of the “published author”.

I have other, slightly more personal things I am being patient for. And I know God is working and has it all planned out. This morning he softly spoke those wretched but much needed words to me. “Wait on me.”

*sigh* So now I wait. I write, and I wait.