On Not Working

I spent the whole day at work today trying to fix problems that just couldn't be fixed. They were the things I worked with all last week, things that are waiting for a doctor or an insurance to approve or for someone to pay. These are things I can't do anything with but keep checking on while waiting for someone else to handle the problem.

This doesn't make for fun days at work. I like to feel like I've accomplished something at the end of the day. I want to feel like I've made a difference by being there. I don't like the idea of walking away after nine hours with next to nothing to show for it.

It's the same way with things in life. I want to fix every problem I come across when I come across it. I want to be able to tell people what to do to make the church grow and see it happen the next Sunday. I want to be able to say the words that help people with what they are going through and have their lives' be better the next day. I want life to be like the sitcom problems that are solved in 30 minutes.

That's not how life works, though. Most of the time you just have to do everything you can do and then wait for the one with the ability to fix things to work. This means I have to be okay with just being there sometimes, even when I don't feel like I'm doing anything productive. I don't always like it, but when the problems finally do get fixed, it's awesome to have been there waiting for it.