So I went to the doctor the other day and it’s typically a place I don’t enjoy going to. There’s never really a “good” reason to go to the doctor, so I’m sure it’s a joyful occupation, but I’m just typically not that fond of it. Anyway, I didn’t half mind it this week because I actually wasn’t sick, I just wanted to make sure all the sicknesses that I have had over the past several months aren’t still lingering. So I just pumped myself up and took off to get all my tests run.
The one bad thing about the doctors office is the mind tricks they play on you. You don’t think you’re waiting as long because you sit out in the lobby for maybe 15 minutes to a half hour and then you get called back to your own private waiting room for who knows how long. This doesn’t mean you’re next, it just means that you no longer get to watch SportsCenter and have to entertain yourself on your own (these guys are smart…). I’m only kidding of course, but I didn’t mind my own private waiting room this go around and I didn’t even have to wait that long. This time, the doctors all remembered me from my brush with death and Bubonic Plague a few months ago (a little over dramatic, but not by much), so they all wanted to know how life was going after the fact. When I told them about having Dengue, they got even more excited to test me out and make sure I was healthy.
After the first few nurses and doctors checked on me, Dr. Laubenthal came in to check me out. He’s a Yankees fan and I try not hold that against him, but it always makes for a good conversation opener. Of course this time with the Red Sox out of the playoffs, he had more to talk about, but at least I was out of the country for this season. Sports aside, Dr. Laubenthal wanted to know all about the trip and how I was doing, even the non-health side of me. Nowadays when people open the door for me, I typically seize the opportunity to talk about what God is doing and how His Gospel is spreading, so I just went right into that. When I realized I had been talking for a while about non-health related stuff, I slowly backed off because I knew he was a busy man with a lot of patients to see (and a lot of patience too obviously… ok, that was cheesy I’m sorry, but sometimes I have to say these things).
Our conversation went on for several minutes and I felt like I was recapping parts of my trip to an invested friend, not my doctor that works on healing me. I didn’t think I would feel that comfortable with a man in his position, but I greatly enjoyed my trip to the doctor and the conversation. At the end, he explained to me all that he was doing and checking on in terms that made me believe I could be a doctor and I just soaked it all up. He encouraged me, made me feel comfortable about my health and then asked me a few more questions about what was to come in the future. So I gave him the run down and he told me to check back in with him, even if it was a non-health related deal.
I was encouraged by our conversation not just because Dr. Laubenthal is a “people person”, but because this man is making so much more out of his career. Bedside manner aside, I felt confident enough in his opinion, and saw that he wanted to know more about my work too. There’s so many ministry opportunities we have in our daily lives and careers that I feel like we neglect. Sometimes we just need to take a few extra minutes to listen or encourage despite our schedule. You have no idea how loved someone might feel…
