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Thursday, October 25, 2012

The Older Man

Eyes in the crowded waiting room fell upon us as we stepped in the room. Oh great. Dad will certainly win our bet.

This particular doctor's appointment most certainly ends up with an extreme wait time. As we were pulling out of my dad's driveway a half an hour earlier, I threw down the gauntlet and made my best guess on how long we were going to have to wait. I wagered forty-five minutes. My more optimistic dad laughed and countered by waging an hour and a half.
 
While we were waiting [and waiting some more] I noticed a woman helping her mother with her jacket and telling an older man it was nice to meet him. I soon discovered this older man was waiting on his wife, she is 85 years old, she's an artist, she is beautiful and how long they've been married. I smiled to myself as I continued to read my book.
 
Soon another person came in the door and he started an interrogation process. I was ever so glad I wasn't the object of his interrogation. "Where are you from" "Why are you here" "Who are you picking up" "What are you having done" and on and on. Phew, I was glad I had my nose in a book and he wasn't talking to me.
 
It wasn't long until I felt eyes upon me. I looked up and this older gentleman and a few others were looking my way. Apparently I was supposed to be paying attention to their conversation??? This is where it got a little weird. He soon turned his attention to my dad. He asks my dad if I was with him. As in if I was his wife or girlfriend. Ick. My dad doesn't like to give out personal information, especially about his health. Nor does he like it when someone asks way too many personal questions. I just kept reading my book and let the two older men talk. Well, it was more like the older man doing all the questioning and my dad giving one word answers. Awkward.
 
Soon I heard him commenting that I must be rude and find the book more interesting than him. Excuse me? I looked up to see him leaning across my dad staring at me. I smiled and mentioned I thought he was having a nice conversation with my dad and didn't want to intrude. Well played, Deanna, well played.
 
He soon turned his attention to another person who was reading a book. I began to wonder what this man had against reading. I honestly wasn't paying attention to their conversation until I heard him say, "That is not what God's Word says." I tuned in at that statement.
 
Apparently he found out this woman used to work in the school system and thus began children’s' behavior 'now-a-days' conversation. Soon the woman said she can't talk much about that because her daughter had a baby when she was twenty-one and she wasn't married. Oh boy here we go. However, soon his wife's appointment was finished and she was at the receptionist area making another appointment and his attention turned to her and proceeded to tell my dad how beautiful she is and she's an artist, she is beautiful, she is eighty-five...
 
To be brutally honest, I was glad he was leaving. Although he seemed to be a delightful man, I wondered about his tactics. He told everyone around him, "God bless you." as he finished his conversation with them. Even grabbed a nurse’s hand and told her. But, I wondered if his approach was a turn off to some.
 
If you are representing God, do you tell a stranger that having a baby out of wedlock is not God's plan when you don't know her daughter is that "sinner"? Are you representing God when you ask 101 questions? I'm not sure. I just know it was a turn off to me. Yes, I was polite when he talked to me but one must remember we are all created differently. He, obviously, an extrovert. Others in the waiting room, introverts.
 
I'm a representative of God. How do I represent Him in the waiting room? I don't have the answers. I do know God made us all different. What a boring world it would be if we were all the same.
 
I have nothing against this older man. He seemed sweet. Others may love his approach. Perhaps God used him so I could think and search how I represent Him.

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