The Waiting Room

I’ve been a preacher or an elder for over forty years. While I am now serving only as an elder, for a number of those years I served in both capacities. Along with those “official” roles, I am also a husband, father, father-in-law, and grandfather. I have also been a son and son-in-law. As I think about all of the “hats” I’ve worn, I realize that I also have other family connections and that I am also a neighbor and, hopefully, a friend.

What all of that means, among other things, is that I have spent quite a bit of time in waiting rooms in hospitals. I’ve been with people when we’ve prayed together about what are sometimes very serious surgeries. I’ve also engaged in conversation with nervous family members, watched television (even though there was little or no interest in what was going on), thumbed through newspapers and magazines, played with phones and tablets, and done any number of other things.

Some may view these activities (other than prayer) as merely being designed to  pass the time. While there may be some truth in that, I believe that, in many cases, they are coping mechanisms. Often the people in waiting rooms are trying to cope with the unknown and are trying to prepare themselves for what could be devastating news.

The truth of the matter is that waiting rooms are no fun. As the number of visits to a waiting room begins to mount up, those visits begin to take a toll on us in many ways. Concerns about the health of those about whom we care can have an impact on us physically, financially, and emotionally. As strange as this may seem, sitting in a waiting room can be exhausting.  

Sometimes, the stress caused by health concerns affects us spiritually as well. Is it ever tempting to wonder why bad things happen to us or to the people we love? Have you ever wondered or been asked how a God of love could allow suffering and pain? Are there times when it is not clear that God really does care? Can the same Jesus who calmed the sea when his disciples were so fearful calm my fears today?

Instead of focusing on negative things about hospital waiting rooms, I would like to suggest that they may be some of the greatest classrooms available for learning some important life lessons. For example, one of the more valuable lessons we need to learn is that we are not in control of as many things as we might like to think we are. If nothing else, the fact that we feel the need to pray should remind us of that.  

Along with that, we are reminded that somebody besides us is actually doing the surgery. That may help us to understand concepts like trust and hope. We have temporarily put our trust in those who are performing the surgery and hoping for a positive outcome. That could be a reminder for all of us to put our ultimate trust in Jesus and live with an “expectant hope” of being with Him for eternity.

Many life lessons that can be learned in a hospital waiting room. There is one of those lessons, however, that actually served as the impetus for what I’m writing. I’ve been on the receiving end and, hopefully, the giving end of that important life lesson. While that lesson may be learned or be more obvious in a waiting room, it is important in so many other places and at so many times in our lives.

That lesson is that it is extremely valuable to have other people with you when you are dealing with stressful, unpleasant, and/or tragic situations. The words that may (or may not) be said are not as important as the fact that people care enough to share the experience with you. There is a lot more going on in those waiting rooms than merely small talk and “killing time.” There is a demonstration of love and support when those things are very much needed.  

It would be difficult to even guess how many times I’ve been told by a person who was about to go into surgery something like, “I know that you’ve got a lot to do. You didn’t need to come.” I also cannot recall how many family members of people in surgery have encouraged me to take care of other things I needed to do while the surgery was taking place.  

I also remember when the tables were turned and one of my loved ones was in surgery. I remember how much it meant to me that people cared enough about the loved one and me to “just sit” with me. They might not have known it, but they were doing much more than merely sitting.    

It may be that a hospital waiting room is a good place to learn or to be reminded of a lot of things. It is also a good place to see the connection between these two verses:

Casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you (1 Peter 5:7).

 

Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2).

The things that happen in an operating room can have benefits for a lifetime. The things that happen in a waiting room can pay dividends for eternity.

Some of the policies that have been implemented by government agencies and health providers during the past couple of years have effectively closed down some wonderful classrooms. I am praying that they can open again very soon and that we can all take part in what I’ve recently heard referred to as…

the ministry of presence.

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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn