Upon entering, you immediately sense a special quietness and peace. Most of the time there is someone at the front desk to welcome you, make sure you know where you are going, and even offer to walk you to the room of the person you are there to visit. At times the smell of fresh baked cookies fills the air. They are set out daily for family members of loved ones who are in their final steps of this life's journey. At 4:00 each day a big pot of soup is available, and someone goes room to room to give the family members a special invitation to stop down and eat. The personal invite at a difficult time in this special setting adds a whole new dimension to "comfort food."
Other staff quietly step into the room on a regular basis to check in on everyone, not just the patient. At the first sign of a patient feeling uncomfortable or even restless, there are offers to help him or her by adjusting positions of the patient, giving an additional medication, or offering other helpful suggestions. And I don't remember anyone on staff ever leaving the room before asking, "Is there anything else I can do for you. This place of rest, peace, and comfort is truly a blessed "waiting room."
This experience caused me to think about the other waiting rooms in life. The term "waiting room" may most often remind us of the doctor, dentist, or hospital, but all aspects of life seem to involve waiting. We wait to find out about college and job offers, a contract on a home, to see where a relationship with that special someone will lead, and we wait nine months until our babies are born. On a smaller scale, we wait in line in traffic and at the grocery store, we wait for our children to finish practice at their music lessons and sports activities, and we wait to pick them up at school. If we're on an outing, we may need to wait in line for a ride at the amusement park or for our turn to be seated in a restaurant. We wait to hear from friends and family, we wait for just the right timing to bring up a difficult subject, and we wait for any number of answers to prayers. Just think, it's really one of the first lessons we teach our children, the need to wait for their turn.
So if we spend so much of our time waiting, how can we create quiet, peaceful "waiting rooms" for ourselves? I think I will "hang my hat" on Isaiah 9:6, "For to us a child is born... And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." When I am waiting I will endeavor to remember to call on the Prince of Peace to be my companion. I will also try to remember that my Everlasting Father is watching over me as a father watches over his little girl, so I can rest in Him. When I am anxious, I will remember to call on my Mighty God to strengthen me. And when I don't know what to do, I will rely on my Wonderful Counselor to speak to me "by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church" a.k.a. other believers (Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby). These are principles I can use both in the small things like being patient when waiting in line and in the larger challenges that test my faith.
Finally, let us not forget others in their waiting rooms. Small gestures mean so much...a call, a text, an e-mail, a card, or if you have time, a quick visit and a hug. What has meant the most to me over time, however, have been the reminders that point to my true hope. It could be one of the names in Isaiah 9:6 or any one of a dozen others. Two of my favorites are I Am because it reminds me to "Be still and know" that He is God (Psalm 46:10) and Immanuel (God with us) from Matthew 1:23. The bottom line is found in Matthew 28:20 when Jesus assures us, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age". Let us be quieted by the assurance that He is always with us in "The waiting Rooms of Life".
If you are in a difficult waiting room right now click on the link below to listen to While I'm Waiting by John Waller.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb7TSGptd3Y