The people were hoping to be restored, rescued, and redeemed. Their expectations were for a warrior who with might and power would overcome and free them from the temporal confines of daily life under Roman rule. Their Lord promised redemption, but his picture of what this rescue had an eternal perspective. He chose instead meekness and a sacrificial love.
We are restrained by time and a life of points of time in a linear movement. Our Creator is outside of space and time. Therefore His answer to our problem , prayer, or petition may have an eternal perspective. Let us lay down our expectations and be open to an answer that has eternal implications.
We sat on the pew awaiting the service to begin. My husband commented that Advent blue was his favorite color of all the seasons. Our daughter agreed. Each church season means new banners hung upon the altar and in the sanctuary. My husband looked up at the banner directly in front of us. “What does esperanza mean in Spanish, Shelly?” He asked. “Hope,” I replied, ” which is interesting because in Spanish esperar means to wait and this morning I looked up the definition of hope as a reminder and it means a feeling of expectation. Expecting, waiting. ”
In the season of advent we begin the church calendar with our Great Expectation of the birth of our newborn Savior. Heaven comes down and takes the form of a baby. The King of the Universe and Creator takes on the limitations of a newborn child. As we enter this season we prepare our hearts as we wait.
What great expectation do you have?
What are you waiting for?
Healing for a loved one?
A phone call ….
For a job, provision?
Reconciliation?
Deliverance?
Waiting is often hard. There is a tension, but there is also hope. However, sometimes if we wait for a while, worry and doubt can seep in.
What can we do while we wait? We can prepare our hearts. And oft we find no matter the answer to the prayer, the real transformation happens as we wait.
I am waiting:
For healing for my brother from Ramsay Hunt Syndrome where the shingles virus has attacked the nerves in the left side of his face. I am researching, the doctors have him on meds, I am seeking any possible treatments to help promote healing and despite all my healthcare expertise one essential part of the healing process is time. So I pray and I wait. I pray for full resolution from the palsy and fully restored health. It is so hard to see your little brother with an ailment. No matter how old he is , he will always be my kid brother that I fought and played hard with but always felt an innate desire to protect.
I wait for healing for a friend in ICU with a severe case of COVID. Things had been grim but we see signs of hope and improvement so we still wait with expectation of some continued miraculous healing.
I wait for my Uncle in the hospital. He is having a cardiac angiogram (heart Cath) today. I am waiting for good news and healing from the procedure and resolution of his symptoms that led him there.
I am waiting for healing for my husband’s back, a minor flare from a lumbar strain that limits his movement.
I am waiting for a diagnosis, the discovery of the underlying cause of my teen daughter’s orthostatic hypotension. And of course we want healing from all that ails my precious girl.
I am hoping for healing for a loved one’s dad to overcome a type of blood cancer a second time.
I am waiting and as I wait I pray , Lord heal them but guide, lead, and teach me as I wait.
As I wait, I hope, trust and believe as hard as this waiting is that the wait has purpose. I believe in an intelligent Creator that is also a loving, compassionate Creator that loves His creation. This Creator gave us free will or else we would be robots and forced love is not love. This in our free will to choose, the world is impacted both positively and adversely. Thus enters the problem of pain, loss, illness, evil.
But I also believe, hope, trust and know that light has overcome the darkness, the good does overcome evil and that our Creator God uses all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)
Lord, we wait for you.
In anticipation and expectancy we hope for greater things that we can conceive.
Transform me in the waiting to look more like you.
Waiting rooms are never my favorite. I have spent many times in waiting rooms for various reasons. The most profound memories in waiting rooms were for major medical issues with loved ones. Thankfully this time I am only waiting for a my daughter to have a minor diagnostic procedure. She was brave getting her IV. She is not a fan of hospitals and even stated her fear of needles. So I am proud of her.
The nurses are phenomenal as always and as God would have it our nurse Kristen today is not only awesome at starting IVs while calming Kyra with conversation whe learned she knows and is friends with a few of our Legacy people and her church meets at Legacy.
Legacy is the Christian school my daughter has attended since kindergarten and my husband teaches history there.
So as I sit in this waiting room and I entrust my daughter to the hands of healthcare colleagues. I feel almost helpless. I am reminded I am not trusting then alone our Lord is there with her even when I cannot be. A valuable lesson to recall in this season of life for our girl.
We are doing the test to find answers to a collection of vague synptoms ongoing since 2018 but worsening in the past year or so. The blood work is fine, bu our daughter does not feel fine. So we are thankful all the major stuff so far has checked out but we pray for answers so she can feel overall healthy again. Currently this work up includes POTS (postural Orthostatic Tachycardia syndrome) as a possible diagnosis. There are so many variables and this is one of a few tests. But for now I pray and wait…
I am thankful for an unusually quick appointment with the Cardiac Electrophysiologist. I am thankful for a pretty quick appointment to have this TILT test. I am thankful for a kind and very competent nurse thay also happens to know some of our favorite lovely people.
Seeing the glimpses of the Great Conductor as the symphony unfolds instills peace as we pray and wait for answers.
Throughout life we will find ourself in the waiting room. Waiting on answers, waiting on relief, waiting on a plan, waiting on rescue, waiting for the next step. What do we do while we wait? It likely depends what we are waiting upon. We may distract ourselves with reading playing a word puzzle or playing an electronic game. If we are around others we may distract ourselves in conversation. We distract ourself from the unpleasant task of waiting. There are seasons in life where I spend a lot of time in the waiting rooms of life. At times they are literal waiting rooms, at times figurative and may times they are both. This morning I sit alone in this waiting room both figurative and literal. I am waiting on a loved one to return from a radiation treatment for cancer in her brain. I am waiting for answers about the full plan , the provision for her treatment and ultimately the outcome. But this morning as I sit alone, I find I am truly waiting on God. As I wait, I think, I reflect and I pray. I flood His throne with prayers for my loved one. As I wait for all the details to unfold and all the barriers to be overcome, I wait on a God that is able to do much more than I can conceive. As I wait on God to act, I seek His face more fervently. I sup with Him more desperately, but also more open to hear his voice. I am waiting for his answer. As I wait for the unfolding of this particular situation, I am slowing down and craving not distraction but captivation. I want more than even the “answer” right now, for my loved ones is His peace that surpasses all understanding to envelop us even now. #waitontheLord #peaceoftheLord
Stabbing Windmills 