The Waiting is the Hardest Part

My doctor confirmed at my 39 week check-up today that, aside from Peanut being "on the biggish side" (whatever that means!), none of the indicators are indicating he'll be coming out soon.  That's not to say that he won't be on time, just that it's unlikely he'll be early.  Considering he's due next Friday & my mom's coming in next Wednesday, this should be good news.  But the anxious worrier in me fears that if he's too late, Mommy could very well miss the bris & precious days with the baby she's coming all this way to see.

When it came time to schedule our next appointment, my doctor said, "Now, in two weeks," to which I quickly interjected, "I shouldn't be pregnant anymore."  He looked up at me with a heavy smile and responded, "תהיי סבלנית" (t'heyee savlanit) be patient, and continued to explain the past-date plan.  The situation is out of my control - Peanut will come when he's good & ready, not before or after, but בזמנו (bizmano) in his time - all I need to be is patient.

We're taught from a very young age that patience, the act of being tolerant of an unwanted situation, is a virtue.  The Hebrew word סבלנות (savlanut) patience, shares its root letters ס.ב.ל with the verb לסבול (lisbol), which means both to tolerate and to suffer.  This correlation suggests that being patient is in no way expected to be an easy task; in fact, Hebrew recognizes just how insufferable patience can be, especially when the situation is beyond our control.

Say, waiting to go into labour.

Despite their common root, to tolerate & to suffer are opposing concepts - you either suffer through something or soldier through it.  What could be the driving force that connects them?  Patience, the adjective that shares their common base.  Perhaps HaShem, through His holy language Hebrew, is alluding to the relief that patience can bring to circumstances beyond the pale.  When there's nothing more we can do, when we have exhausted every option, when the only thing left is to sit around & wait, doing so with the aforementioned virtuous patience might not make time pass more quickly, but it will certainly make it all the more tolerable.