Actively Waiting

We set our alarms for the dark, predawn hour. I slept, but he may not have slept much. Anticipation. A bit of nerves. The tummy rumbles because there’s been no food since dinner.

I had the honor of being the driver. Feeling a bit guilty, I drank my coffee anyway. My boiled eggs were eaten before the pick up. Trying to be considerate, I let the windows down, though the air was frosty; trying to remove the smell of breakfast from the car.

We finally arrived after navigating morning commuter traffic. Bags in tow we found our waiting base camp location. We had snacks and chargers, books and journals, pens and just lots of stuff. Our active waiting would be filled with productivity. Maybe.

We sat with him while he waited to go back. He was wearing the lovely paper cap and heat infused gown, all wonderfully coordinated with the hospital socks. We laughed. Waited. Offered to take his picture. He was not in favor.

And then the time came to kiss, hug and wave a “see ya after” while they wheeled him behind the doors. Nurses assured. The surgeon greeted. He smiled. He placed an assuring hand on her shoulder and promised to take good care of him.

He would wait asleep for good news upon waking.

The time had come. The wait was really on. A once empty room was now quite full. The air nippy outside was warmed by sunlight through windows. Like plants in a green house, we sat with faces turned toward the light and soaked in the sun.

Chairs were rearranged throughout the day to form huddles of loved ones waiting together. Whispering voices created a white noise symphony of various tones. The mood was positive with chuckles filling the air now and again.

Some slept. Snored. Worked puzzles. Many stared at screens. Some read books. All were actively waiting in some capacity.

Waiting. Have you ever noticed that waiting is an activity?

Psalm 37 has an overarching theme of waiting. Wait for the Lord. But in the meanwhile, do these things. Through a particularly long season of waiting, I’ve found great comfort and tons of wisdom for life just in the first 11 verses. Here’s a sample.

• Do not fret or be envious
• Trust in the Lord
• Do good
• Dwell in safe pasture
• Delight in the Lord
• Commit your way to the Lord
• Trust Him
• Be still before the Lord
• Wait patiently for the Lord
• Do not fret
• Refrain from anger
• Turn from wrath
• Do not fret
• Hope in the Lord
• Patience for a little while longer
• Be meek

Did anyone else notice that the admonition “do not fret” was included three times? Go check it for yourself. It’s in there – three times.

Fretting might be the easiest “go to” activity in a waiting room. However, God says don’t fret – don’t worry. Then He offers all of these other activities to take the place of worrying about circumstances we can’t control anyway.

In this current waiting season, I’m choosing to pursue these activities prescribed by God in Psalm 37. I sometimes forget and default to fretting. And you will too. However, the practice of actively seeking God in the waiting creates faith muscle memory. The more I practice, the more I’m likely to seek His face, to trust and wait patiently for the Lord.

Everyone around me was waiting for news. Hoping for good news. Waiting for the updates. Surgery has begun. The patient is doing well. We’re almost finished. Recovery room. All is well. We’ll come and get you when you are able to visit.

Relief began to fill faces as the waiting time was over… one by one.

I don’t know the hearts of all the people in the waiting room yesterday. There may have been some fretting. It may have been hard to be patient or to trust God. That was true for most of us, I’m sure.

Watching though, I witnessed a whole bunch of kindness, doing good, caring, and concern for other human beings. My heart was filled with hope. Love is still active in our world.

That’s how I see it. What do you think?

Eyes on Jesus and SHINE,

~Lisa

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Today I am joining the Five Minute Friday team in a five minute writing challenge on the one word {active}. I wrote for more than five minutes. That’s fairly obvious. However, I appreciate the five minute timer because it gets me focused and sets me on a course for writing.

Thanks, Kate, for encouraging us to keep writing.