WAITING ROOM PHILOSOPHY

Another small group member and I went Monday and sat with a dear friend and group member in the waiting room while her husband had surgery---14 hours of surgery.  It was a long day for her and we did our best to keep her spirits up, fears abated, and be a general distraction from the obvious~  her husband was having extensive surgery.   If you have never spent any extended period of time in an ICU or surgical waiting room, it is "Another World" experience.  A microcosm of community which will never be duplicated again.  Everyone in the room is there for one purpose, waiting for news.  In this particular hospital there was no room for private doctor consults following surgery, so everyone in the room heard the discussion once the doctor appeared to give an update.  Technology has provided for more private updates during the surgery via cellphone calls and texts, but the inevitable face to face conversation was on public display.  Thankfully by the time they finished our friend's surgery, we were one of the few left in the hospital, so as we stood in the hall to listen to the surgery outcome, there was no public to overhear this very private time.


As you recall, I recently took a friend's husband to have day surgery when she suddenly became sick.  This also involved a waiting room occasion.  Frankly, I am a people watcher, so reading a book or mindlessly staring at the television does not happen.  I am studying those around me and watching their reaction to time in the "Waiting Room."  If you want time to slow down, go sit in a hospital waiting room or for that matter any waiting room.  We are all guilty of impatiently waiting and are not particularly patient about the time spent sitting in anticipation of what we are waiting for.


Life is filled with "Waiting Room" occasions.  Waiting for the birth of a child is a great example.  Nine long months of change, growth, and anticipation of the blessed event.  Then in a matter of a few hours, life is changed forever.  Waiting to graduate from high school, college, boot camp or any other major milestone in life also comes to mind.  We spend a great deal of time waiting and preparing for our lives to take a major change by completing our course.  Waiting for career changes, home purchases, children growing up, grandchildren arriving~our lives are filled with time waiting for the next anticipated event.  We seem to be in life's waiting rooms a great deal of the time.  The final waiting room comes in our final years.  We are waiting for the last diagnosis, the announcement of our time remaining, or any other event which proceeds the final act.


What is more important than these life changing moments is how we are spending our time in the waiting room.  Are we so consumed with the next "big thing" that we forget to live in the moment?  Do we idle time away instead of using it to the fullest?  Do we live the abundant life while waiting?  The waiting room can be a huge waste of time and filled with doubt and chaos or it can be a productive period of time wisely spent.  There is more time spent waiting than experiencing the "moment".  The challenge becomes to live life abundantly--even in the waiting room.

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
I came that they may have life
and have it abundantly.
John 10:10



22 comments

  1. You know, Lulu, we Catholics like waiting so much that we have invented another waiting room. We call it Purgatory. It's a place where we go and wait after we are dead before we enter Heaven. It has old magazines and newspapers like a doctor's or dentist's waiting room; and we wait our turn before we are called to see St Peter who tells us how long our wait will be. Purgatory is for Catholics only. So don't expect to go there, and don't take any knitting or sandwiches with you. Other denominations go straight to Heaven. Purgatory is for Catholics because they invented it and they might as well use it.

    When Christ was dying on the Cross, He said to the thief beside Him, "today you'll be with me in Paradise." He did not say, "But you'll have to wait in Purgatory first, so take some reading material with you. And have some money for the collection plate. It's what Catholics do!"

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don’t think I have to comment on this, Victor, except to say Catholics are really good at raising money. Old magazines and knitting were present at the hospital.
      Blessings!

      Delete
  2. It would seem that our lives can become one big waiting room if we're not mindfully present in each moment. And yes, I've had my fair share of hospital waits while Danny has had surgeries involving a pacemaker. I was so grateful for those who waited with me, and I'm glad you could be there for your friend.
    Blessings, Lulu!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We are blessed to sit and wait with those we love.
      Blessings, My Friend!

      Delete
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