Whoo Knew

I'm not really an emotional person. It's rare that I cry during a movie. However, there are a few exceptions like Steel Magnolias and It's a Wonderful Life. I also don't typically cry when reading tear-jerker books, like Charlotte's Web, to my class. But who would have thought I would have almost a complete meltdown while reading a Dr. Seuss book?! Yes, you read that right...I almost couldn't finish Oh, the Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss because my emotions almost got the best of me. If it has been a while since you have read a book by Dr. Seuss, you might be surprised by the deep underlining themes in his books. 

I read numerous Dr. Seuss books to my class each year. We usually laugh and giggle at the silly rhymes and my first graders are amazed by his creativity and imagination. However, Oh, the Places You Will Go is not a giggly book for me. For me, it has a different tone because parts of it speak so perfectly well for the season of my life right now. 

You can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles cross weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.

The Waiting Place...

...for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or the waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for the wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.

So, as I sit here in my weirdish, wild, waiting place, I'm a bit encouraged by the poet. I'm encouraged because I know that it is just a waiting place. All "waits" come to an end at some point--some sooner than others. It just so happens that this particular waiting place has no exit signs in sight and I'm still waiting for my number to be called. I kind of feel like an out-dated magazine in a waiting room. But, I have hope...not because of the words of Dr. Seuss, but because of my Savior. He knew before time that I would be found in this waiting place. And here is the good part...He is waiting with me.