I estimate that I have spent roughly a 40-hour week in the office of eye doctors over the last ten years. I have not had eye surgery and I do not have serious eye disease, but regular check-ups and follow-ups have been necessary. I have visited several eye doctors in two different states now, and the experience is the same: patients stay for a really long time! If you’ve been to an ophthalmologist lately, you’ve experienced it yourself: first the typical sign-in and paperwork. Eventually you’re called back to initial screenings, machine measurements, and the eyeball air puff test. Later, someone comes and puts drops in your eyes. There is a long wait after the eye drops go in, sometimes as long as an hour. You sit in a dimmed waiting room. I think I memorized the eye disease documentary that the one practice ran continuously on its TVs! Finally, nearly two hours in, the doctor sees you for the exam which probably lasts less than 15 minutes.
One of my recent eye appointments caught me by surprise. I thought I was in for a quick contact lens follow-up, which I had scheduled for mid-morning. I got to the office for my quick check, but things did not go well or as I’d planned. I waited in the lobby interminably. I had not brought anything to read, thinking I’d only be there for a few minutes. When the assistant finally took me back, she put in the eye drops and I knew I was done for! Sure, I had my phone, which even has the Bible app, but I was in no mood to salvage the unexpected wait! I went home for a late lunch huffing with frustration over a wasted morning.
Don’t get me wrong. I have genuine respect for medical professionals. The eye particularly amazes me, and I cannot imagine all that goes into learning the physiology and diseases of this intricate organ so vital to the human experience of sight. And we know that the medical profession, like many other businesses, struggles with worker shortages and extra protocols (although my lengthy ophthalmologist appointments began years before this predicament).
So why am I writing about the inconvenience of long doctor appointments? My impatience reminds me that I need to keep things in perspective. While I can complain about waiting, the staffing shortages and wasted time, I remind myself that I have a lot to be thankful for! I have access to good medical care, as we all do in this country compared to many places in the world. I have insurance and the means to pay for it. I am free of serious eye disease: I have my eyesight! I have the wherewithal to discuss issues with my doctors and to practice good eye care. Complaining about a long wait is groundless considering the many undeserved blessings I experience daily.
How do we view things, as half empty or half full? The doughnut or the hole? I easily tend toward negativity or griping so God’s words to “be thankful in all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) correct my bad tendency. Instead, my lens of perspective should focus on all the ways in which God richly provides for us (Ecclesiastes 5:19 and Joel 2:26, for examples).
