Waiting...
It's something we all have to do.
I don't know about you, but I'm not always good at it.
Finally the awaited day had come. By Wednesday morning I'd made my list and checked it twice:
Dishes - washed
House - tidied
Laundry - done
Bag - packed
We were ready to go, but this would be no vacation. My husband was headed to the hospital for open heart surgery. We literally had five minutes to head out the door when the phone rang. It was the hospital, postponing his surgery until Friday because his surgeon was called to do a heart transplant. It was a day of celebrating for one family and a day of sorrow for another, and though we didn't know them we immediately began to pray for them both.
For a few minutes, we were stunned. I remember feeling this way after my dad died - now what do we do?
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. ~ Psalm 27:14
My husband has the best attitude. He remarked that he always wanted to be an astronaut (specifically the first farmer on the moon!) and now he knew what it must feel like to have a mission aborted! What a great perspective!
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| Photo courtesy of NASA |
We fumbled our way though Wednesday and watched our grandsons on Thursday to keep us occupied (and wear us out!)
Friday came, and once again I checked items off my to-do list.
This time we made it to the hospital before getting bumped.
Fortunately for us, this delay was only a couple hours. Unfortunately for someone, they were rushed to the hospital and were in need of emergency surgery. They just happened to have an operating room ready to go - the one my husband was supposed to be in.
In both instances, the waiting came easier when we were focused on others rather than ourselves.
How about you? Are you patient when it comes to waiting? I'd love to hear your tips for waiting!
Father, I thank you for the peace that comes when we keep our focus on You. Thank you for your perfect timing, which is so often different than our own. Thank you for protecting my husband, seeing him successfully through surgery, and giving me patience as I waited.
Lisa
Linking up with: Simply Helping Him, Into the Word Wednesday, Winsome Wednesday, True Vine Challenge, Faith Filled Friday, Spiritual Sunday, Weekend Whatever, Tell Me a Story
You mentioned The Big 3 :) Praying, focusing on God, and having some kind of contact with other people. Keeping on hand a pocket New Testament, book of Psalms, small Bible, little book of Bible promises, and/or uplifting poems help me too. There's also comfort in a cell phone to remind me I'm a cell in the Body of Christ with the voice of other Christians within easy reach.
May God continue to bless you and your family in Jesus' Name.
Great thoughts. It's hard to focus on others instead of our own disappointments, but it's absolutely necessary to maintain a godly attitude. I need to be reminded of this often.
" now what do we do?"
I always feel like that after the three hour Good Friday devotions. We've spent all week, and particularly that day, following a set schedule, building up, preparing and then are left with that aching void.
In recent years I've found myself wishing I had a Jewish heritage and could go home, light the candles and do whatever it is that Jewish women do to keep the Sabbath. It's needing a framework to know how to be.
And it sounds like you've found one; a truly blessed one.
Lisa--I've been reading Andrew Murray's 'Waiting on God' for several months now. God's been speaking to me about abiding and waiting for most of the year. I'm not sure for what...that is the tension. And I get to start again each day when my impatience kicks in. He IS a faithful God...thank you for this post.
Thanks for the reminder for a good attitude in waiting...trusting in the Lord and His plans for us! Linked up next to you one Missional Women...
My will is usually "not to wait" but I've found over the years it is a really good thing I'm not in charge.
I'm not good at waiting, but I try to remember that God can see the big picture and His delays are always for a very good reason.
Glad your husband's surgery went okay. Praying he has a speedy recovery.
I think it is built in most of us to not have much patience when it comes to waiting. Just taking the fact - that this is the way it is, so learn to be patient, helps me. Sorry but my hubby does not have any tips about waiting as he is not very good at it. :-) Thank you for sharing at "Tell Me a Story."
Your husband is a trooper. I hope things are going well for both of you. Sometimes it's easier to be patient or wait when I have no choice in the matter. When I think I can change something, I might be too quick to try and control circumstances, when the best thing to do is wait. Left without choice also puts me in that place of just trusting Him and that is where he wants me. :)
Blessings to you.
When I read Jody's comment I realized that, YES, abiding is very important. The Lord has had me reading I John over and over again lately and I, some years ago, had circled "abide" every time John mentioned it. He is all we can trust and all we can rely upon. In your case, being prepped was a good thing, BUT being set aside was also a good thing, b/c YOU would, instead of being annoyed that you were being knocked off the schedule, you would turn to the needs of the others who had, by their life situation, set you aside. It became a ministry of caring for others.
That is what we must/should keep our hearts on when life changes and our plans didn't come to being the way we thought they would. Focusing on Him is the only way to make it.
Blessings....