Tale of an Annoying Day

Beth was five years old and had her umpteenth bout with strep throat. And I think that it was the same week that Laura had to have stitches from a fall and had an allergic reaction to her medication. I was in the doctor’s office with all three squirmy little girls for the fifth time in six days. We waited in the waiting room where the girls picked up all of the other germs that they didn’t already harbor. And then we waited in the six foot by six foot cell, otherwise known as the examining room. The girls opened every drawer, climbed up and down off the examining table, and spun around on the little wheelie chair to keep themselves occupied. When Dr. Hoppers, the pediatrician, opened the door and saw us – again – he replied, “You’ve got to be kidding.” He removed Laura’s stitches and swabbed Beth’s throat. And to placate Kate, he took her down with him to the lab to get the test results for the strep. Annoying day? Absolutely. But God always redeems those in ways we can’t imagine. It was about that time – when Kate was three – that she announced that she wanted to become a doctor when she grew up.
Last weekend, that little three year old -- twenty two years later-- marched up on stage and was given her diploma for completing medical school. She is now a doctor, headed to Vanderbilt for her residency, a dream realized, grasped initially on an ordinary day in the doctor’s office.
Let those annoying days be redeemed. Be thankful for everything. God has purpose for even such a time as this.