Today’s Daily Bread ~ The Waiting Room

James 5:7-8 – Dear brothers and sisters, you must be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return.  Consider the farmers who eagerly look for the rains in the fall and in the spring.  They patiently wait for the precious harvest to ripen.  You, too, must be patient.  And take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.

My sweet son, Nicholas, was recently diagnosed with a Sensory Integration Disorder.  Basically, my little boy doesn’t process things the way most of us do.  He doesn’t understand personal space or proper force.  Among other things, he is hyper-sensitive to sound.  When we’re in a loud place with a lot of commotion (think restaurants) he might yell a word or a phrase over and over to block out the background noise. 

We are very blessed to have found a wonderful pediatric occupational therapist not ten minutes from our house.  Miss Amy works with Nick twice a week, an hour at a time.  I have become very familiar with their waiting room.

They have all my favorite magazines and plenty of books and toys for the kids.  A leather couch lines the back wall, with comfortable chairs around the room.  Sometimes I’ll lose myself in a book, sometimes I’ll chat with the other moms.  All in all, it’s not a bad way to spend an hour.

I remember a few years back when Mike had to have a small operation.  The surgery was minor, but he had to be under general anesthesia during the operation.  The waiting room at the hospital was not so cozy.  Hard chairs, stale coffee and a game show on TV I had no interest in.  We arrived that day at 7am.  We didn’t leave until almost three.  With nothing to do and no one to talk to, it was a very long day.

It occurred to me today, that life is a waiting room.

Joyce Meyers says that we spend most of our lives waiting.  I look at my daughter, who turns five on Friday, and I know she’s right.  When Caitlyn was three, all she talked about was turning four.  The second she blew out that fourth birthday candle, she wanted to know was how long it would be until she was five.

At the end of a long summer, I would eagerly look forward to starting school again.  By the second week I was counting down until the next three-day weekend.  When I was seventeen I wanted to turn eighteen.  Once I rang that birthday in I couldn’t wait to be twenty-one.  When I first broke into radio, all I wanted was to be full time.  As soon as I had full-time status, I wanted to be on a morning show.  A few years on the morning show and I was waiting until the time was right to leave.  We spend much of our lives in a waiting room of sorts.

Have you ever been stuck in a waiting room with a poor waiter?  I’ve been that person a time or two:  Impatiently sighing every few minutes; checking my watch; staring down the poor receptionist.  It doesn’t make the time go by faster.  It just makes everyone around you uncomfortable.

Dear brothers and sisters, you must be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return.

Patient for His return…and His reply.  So few of my prayers have been answered on my timetable.  More often than not, I will ask for something, and it will be weeks, months, or even years before I have closure on it. The Greek word for patience in this passage of Scripture is makrothumeó (mak-roth-oo-meh’-o).  Along with patience, it means to persevere.  It also means to defer anger.  God wants us to have a good attitude while we wait.

Perhaps one of the longest “waits” in my life was the year of my engagement.  Mike asked me to marry him in early August of 2003.  We were married July 17^th, 2004.  It was the longest year of my life.  I worried over everything.  The dress, the cake, my shoes, my hair.  Money, the guest-list, the music, the menu.  I worried about our china pattern, the silverware we chose and the honeymoon destination.  I wasn’t excited about getting married.  I just wanted to do it and be done with it.  The moment every little girl dreams of her entire life…and instead of enjoying where I was…I obsessed about where I was going.  What a shame.  What a waste of time.

I believe that a mark of true spiritual maturity is learning to enjoy the wait.  And you can take this to the bank: God never has us wait in vain.  He is always sharpening us, strengthening us for the next task.  Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.”  We never know what is going on behind the scenes.  We only see a teeny, tiny piece of the puzzle.  If God has not answered your prayer yet, relax.  His ways are impeccable; His timing is perfect.  Ask yourself this: What can you do while you’re waiting?

I almost never get caught in a waiting room without a book or something to do.  And now that I travel with small children, I come armed with snacks, crayons and coloring books.  If we have to be there, we might as well make it fun.

Life is a waiting room.  We are always waiting for the next promotion, the next weekend, the next birthday or the next paycheck.  Some of us are waiting for an answer, and some of us are desperately waiting for a miracle.  Don’t become fixated on the wait.  Don’t be so obsessed with the destination that you completely miss the journey.  How can you further God’s Kingdom…how can you bring glory to His Son…while you wait?

Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You for Your Son.  We praise You that You loved us enough to become man and walk with us.  You are an empathetic God.  You know that it’s hard to be us.  You are compassionate on us, and You know that waiting can be difficult at times, and frightening at others.  Help us to trust You more.  You tell us to trust in You with all our hearts, and not to listen to our feelings.  Help us to do that, God.  Help us to train our feelings, and to remember that they do not have to rule our attitude.  We want to have that steadfast certainty in You, Lord.  Please convict us to spend more time in Your Word, and to become more familiar with Your Promises.  You are always calling us closer, beckoning us into a deeper, more intimate relationship with You.  Help us to take that step.  Right now, Father, help us to walk in obedience.  Help us enjoy the moment we are in, no matter what our circumstances are.  We pray for peace that surpasses understand, and joy that overflows.  We love You, God.  We praise You, Jesus.  Guide us, Holy Spirit.  We ask these things in a spirit of victory, knowing that when we pray in line with Your will, and in Your Son’s holy name, Your answer is always “YES!”  It is in the beautiful Name above all names, Lord Jesus Christ that we pray.  Amen.