Life is full of waiting. We wait for paperwork to arrive in the mail, investments to grow, and phone calls to come. We wait for our kids to graduate, our incomes to go up, and the scale to go down. We wait in government offices, theater lobbies, bus stops, and airports.

None of us are any good at waiting. We want results, and we want them yesterday. With the whole world on fast-forward, it irritates us to have to push the pause button, especially when anxiety is running high.

The waiting rooms of doctors’ offices might just as accurately be called “anxiety rooms.” As a person waits, she may have an open magazine on her lap, but her mind is far away, pondering the what-ifs. Whether we’re upset about new symptoms, waiting for a specific diagnosis, or wondering what our treatment will be, the feeling is the same: apprehension.

I remember waiting to hear what was physically wrong with Nate, wondering if our lives might radically change with what we would be told. Mary had to wait, too, through 6 long months of chemo and the scans that followed, to find out what was happening inside her body.

Tomorrow Mary, Bervin, and Luke will move into yet another waiting room as they meet with Mary’s oncologist to discuss any remaining options available to her. And as a result of whatever they’ll learn, in a sense she’ll be waiting again.

I have a friend who also had cancer and suffered through lots of nervous waiting. Asking for prayer as she awaited information, she sent a group email that included an interesting choice of words: “I’m in God’s waiting room.”

The minute I read that I knew she was going to rise above her circumstances, because she had lined up with God’s sovereignty over her life, even a life involving cancer. Mary has done the same, and Nate did, too. No fidgeting while waiting, no “why me,” no “how could you!” and no anger. Sure, all of them had questions and struggled with nervousness, but they fixed their gaze on their all-wise heavenly Father as they waited.

While the world’s waiting rooms are marked by angst and dread, God’s waiting room has divine purposes for each occupant. Instead of magazines to read, he offers security. Instead of stale coffee, he hands out contentment. Instead of frayed nerves, he provides peace.

When we learn of cancer, life comes to a screeching halt, but God never stands still. He continues to energetically put a plan in motion that will eventually pour considerable blessing into people, even those with cancer, and especially those who commit to obedient stays in his waiting room.

“Since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!” (Isaiah 64:4)

Praising and Praying with Mary

1. Pray for clarity and wisdom tomorrow in the 2:00 meeting with the oncologist (and the wait beforehand).
2. I praise God for a delightful day spent with my two siblings, Tom and Margaret. […tomorrow’s blog]