8020...wait for it

It took 8,020 tries, but on Friday night in Queens, New York, Johan Santana pitched a no-hitter for the New York Mets against the St Louis Cardinals. It took place at Citifield. 8,020? Yes, the Mets did not have a no-hitter in any of their previous 8,019 games in team history.  How many tried? 245 different starting pitchers have played for the team since 1962 when they were created.

And 7 former Mets have thrown no-hitters for other teams after they left New York. Some have gotten close. 4 Mets pitchers lost no-hitters in the 9th (final) inning. 3 of those by Steve Carlton.

Waiting for a great thing to happen is worth the wait. 

The Townsville Bulletin reported this week,  " Skin cancer patients are waiting longer to have surgery in Townsville than both Brisbane and Cairns, despite North Queensland being the skin cancer capital of Australia."

Figure released on the Federal Government's My Hospitals website showed the median surgery waiting times for melanoma patients at the Townsville Hospital was 21 days, compared to nine days at the Cairns Base Hospital and 12 days at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. Queensland has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world, with one in two Queenslanders developing skin cancer before the age of 85. Melanoma is one of the most common cancers for North Queenslanders. Townsville GP Dr Greg Canning said while the 21-day wait was within acceptable guidelines, patients still suffered a mental toll."

I read an article today on 'Watchful Waiting" about health concerns and being active in monitoring the health circumstances of a patient/ candidate for certain procedures.  (http://www.cfah.org/hbns/preparedpatient/Vol4/Prepared-Patient-Vol4-Issue5.cfm). I guess it talked to me about similar considerations. If it's worthwhile, it's worth waiting for. 

Yesterday I again read in the Bible, "Then the LORD answered me and said,  “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time;  It hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay. " (Habakkuk chapter 2, verses 2-3)

If it's something you believe; if it's something that really matters, you believe and you pray and you dream and you write it on tablets, and you wait. And it might take 8,020 tries. Or in the case of the Jewish people who repeated the story of Genesis since Moses wrote it (about 1500 BCE), In that story we were told that a Messiah would come, and we needed to await him. 

Maimonides (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon) was born in Spain in 1135. He died in Egypt in 1204. In his commentary on the Mishnah (tractate Sanhedrin, chapter 10), Maimonides formulates his 13 principles of faith. They summarized what he viewed as the required beliefs of Judaism and included Number 12. "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah. How long it takes, I will await His coming every day."

I believe that the Messiah has already come. His name is Y'shua. And it took 1500 years from the time of Moses until Y'shua came, born of a virgin in Bethlehem, and preached and healed people throughout Israel.  The time had come. The wait was over. But then he told his followers that it was not the time of the establishment of the Kingdom to Israel again, but that he would be killed, executed on a Roman cross, and die for their sins. Then he died. And then on the 3rd day he rose again from the dead and continued to preach of the Kingdom to come. 

And for that day we wait. 

And it will be worth the wait. 

And surely it will come. Jesus will return. 8,020? Wait for it!