The Waiting Room (09/25/2026)

This week I found myself along with half the county in the waiting room on “Walk-In Dermatology Clinic” at the local hospital. When I arrived early, I assumed I’d be close to the top of the line; it wasn’t the last time I was wrong that day. Of the 20 chairs on the one side of the waiting room I chose, I took the last chair. As I sat down, I must admit I was amazed. With the exception of one woman with a mysterious red rash on her cheeks, the rest of us looked “normal.” Guess that looks can be deceiving.

I pulled out my crossword puzzle book and began busying myself. The man next to me had his phone tuned into a podcast and was listening to it at a loudness level that surprised me because everyone on our side of the room could hear every single word. I wondered if he was an orphan who grew up to be a hermit who never was taught to consider the impacts of one’s behavior on others in the neighborhood.

A man right next to me recognized me and spoke. And something we said snagged the lady next to him who piped in a comment, and before we knew it, we had a three-way conversation going in our little corner. I caught a couple of other “waiters” listening in; I could tell by their facial expressions in response to things that were shared. But we weren’t deterred by lack of privacy. We welcomed the opportunity to connect with others during the wait.

They called back my friend first. The conversations stopped when he left. A few minutes later, they called back the woman next to him that were part of our conversation. But within seconds of her leaving, two newcomers arrived and took the empty seats. I reverted to my crossword puzzle book. A few minutes later, they called my name and I was led to the examination room down the hall.

The appointment went well. What I had feared was skin cancer on my neck turned out to be something else. No surprise, I am sure, it came up in my end of the day conversation with the LORD on the porch that night. I thanked Him profusely for the diagnosis. Skin cancer runs in my family, so it had been weighing on my mind. But then, after I expressed my gratitude, my mind was still stuck on the waiting room and the lessons I’d learned and repeated that day because the LORD loves the Jesuit educational philosophy of “Repeat, Repeat, Repeat.”

I thought of the room full of individual who looked “perfectly fine.” Yet each of them was carrying a concern or they wouldn’t have been there. Lesson #1 – Most people’s burdens are invisible to us. We can’t always tell what another is carrying in life. And I promised the LORD I would try harder to accompany others compassionately.

I thought of the man with the podcast that literally every person in the room could hear. Lesson #2 – This life is not mine alone. I share times and places with others. I need to consider the needs and the good of those around me. And I promised the LORD I would try harder to “deny myself” as I pick up my cross every day.

I thought of the three-way conversation I had with my friend and the woman I’d never met. I was reminded of the LORD’s call to me to accompany others. Lesson #3 – I don’t always get to choose who I accompany. I promised to accompany well whomever the LORD sends my way.

I thought of the people who I deemed to be ease dropping. Lesson #4 – Don’t judge others. And that one caused me to circle back on the guy with the podcast. And I asked the LORD for forgiveness on both fronts. I promised the LORD I would work harder on not assigning motives or guilts to others.

The waiting room experience reminded me that just because we have covered ground with the LORD in the past doesn’t mean we don’t need to review or a refresher. Some lessons take more than one crack to really sink in and take hold. As we journey in faith, hope and love, let us keep our minds and hearts open to the LORD who uses our lives to call us closer, to correct our course, and to teach us new things.

Next week, I have two other doctor appointments for other issues. It will be a great test to see if this week’s lessons have sunk in.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.