“My left arm hurts!” she yelled through the glass partition window that separated us.
“I already know that, Ma’am,” I replied without any bit of concern.
“You’re not going to send me to the hospital?” she queried.
“Not at all,” I confidently answered.
“My face now is getting numb!” she yelled again.
“Just have a sit and relax! That’s all you need to do.” I ordered.
Pacing back and forth in the small area of the Clinic’s waiting room, oblivious to her, I watched intently with my spying eyes from a distance as I pretended to continue working in the computer. She was walking normally going in and out of the bathroom when she thought no one was watching her.
I got up in between and asked, “So, how are you now?”
“Still hurts! You need to send me to the hospital. They need to give me something for pain!”
“Just RELAX! Here, take this cup and drink water!”
“Ma’am, it’s cold here! Can I get a blanket?”
“No! Because this is a waiting area. That was the reason why the nurses earlier had sent you back to your unit because it would be more comfortable there. They were not able to do anything further like me at this time because our doctor had already given you something for pain.” I explained.
“But you need to send me to the hospital!”
“I’m sorry. This is the last time I am going to explain to you that you don’t need to say that to us! We know when we need to send you to the hospital! You saw that your blood pressure and everything else was normal! There’s nothing wrong with you but you need to relax because of your anxiety. You’re letting it consume you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You don’t need to apologize. I had told you earlier that another nurse had already referred you to our Mental Health Services. Our medical doctor can’t do anything about your anxiety because it has to be the Mental Health Doctor who needs to see you. Just be patient and try to relax. I know it’s not easy on your part.”
And she sat quietly, curled up on one of the blue chairs in the waiting area. Her demands ended and she was thinking deeply. She knew she couldn’t get away with all the complaints she faked, no matter how hard she tried.
Just like so many incarcerated inmates who are suffering from anxiety and other mental health problems, we all can try to relax and amidst our sorrows, we can find that time to laugh and energize our spirits. I thought about Sarah who laughed after being told by God that she would have a son despite her old age. Or how about people who found that freedom that comes from Him?
“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.
Our mouths were filled with laughter,
our tongues with songs of joy.” - Psalm 126:1-2
When we abide by Truth and Spirit, we must be careful to look at His Word about laughter. We shouldn’t change His Word to conform to what we experience but rather conform to God’s ways.
When was the last time you really had a good laughter? I saw this cute baby and what made him laugh was so simple but listen to the baby’s pure joy. God bless.
"A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;"
- Ecclesiastes 3:4
