It was evening when I received a phone call telling me to call for an ambulance.  My 92-year-old mother had been ill lately, and a recent x-ray revealed a collapsed lung.  Mom was calmly enjoying a Sonny’s BBQ take-out dinner when I broke the news to her.  She has late-stage dementia and the news added to her confusion.  However, this news seemed odd to me since she was in no distress or pain.  Within minutes, two young female ambulance attendants arrived and after they got the run down on mom, they gently placed her in the stretcher.  The driver smiled and said, “I’ll drive carefully, like she was my own mother”.  They drove without lights at a normal pace; my husband and I followed. 

We walked into the hospital’s small reception area and security called us to the side.  They immediately began to search my purse.   He asked if we had anything in our pockets and to my surprise my husband pulled out a pocketknife.  The tall security man quickly said, “You’re going to have to take that to your car sir”.  The parking garage was quite a long walk.  I gave my husband the eye.  I honestly don’t think wives really know what’s in their husband’s pockets.  Security let me in, and I waited for my husband’s Round 2 with security.  We settled in the waiting room, one could either watch one of two tv’s, scan through your mobile phone, or observe others around you.  I did the later. 

To my right was an elderly man talking so loudly that everyone in the waiting area could easily hear him.  I assumed it was his wife he was talking to.  He was clearly upset and disgruntled about virtually everything.  He kept popping up to ask the receptionist what was going on.  His negative comments were starting to annoy everyone, except for the sleeping man. 

The lone man was spread out across four chairs, restlessly sleeping.  I assumed he was waiting to be seen by a doctor since he was moaning every time he turned over.  But suddenly a woman he knew came in, they talked, and he shot up and they left.  OK, I guess he’s not in pain. 

Then a large woman came wobbling in, perhaps her hips were in pain.  Security had to rummage through her two large plastic bags.  She awkwardly lugged them to a seat next to her.  I watched her reach in one of the bags, she pulled out a bag of chips.  What?  The bags were full of food.  Apparently, she was camping out, prepared for a long wait.  Then I began to wonder, should I have brought snacks and drinks too? 

Then the snoring began.  Where was it coming from?  I glanced around the room.  The snoring was coming from an unexpected source.  It was a young Japanese woman who was curled up tight with her legs on the seat snuggled next to her husband. 

The loud man near me continued talking until two young teen girls came in.  Sitting in the wheelchair was a girl wearing a short jumper who was obviously not feeling well.  Although there were plenty of seats to choose from, the teen girls were sitting only 3 feet away from the loud man.  The other girl got on her cell phone.  Her voice conveyed a high-level of anxiety and fear over their situation.   The loud man who attracted so much attention to himself, suddenly stopped talking.  Now we could only hear the teen on her cell phone.   

As the night wore on, more people came into the waiting room.  An ambulance team carried an elderly woman in a stretcher and dropped her gently in a chair across the room.  She looked just fine to me and began to wonder what was wrong with her.  After a while, her husband strolled in and sat next to her.  Then unexpectantly, they both stood up and walked out of the hospital.  How odd.  Perhaps they were not willing to wait. 

Then my husband pointed out someone shackled to a chair near security, waiting with chains.  Hmm.

This particular downtown hospital has the highest emergency department volume in the state with 55 emergency rooms.  Unfortunately, all rooms were full that night.  We were informed the hospital was expecting more via helicopters and one had a gunshot wound.  

Our ambulance attendant now stood in front of me.  Apparently, my mother was agitated and confused having to wait so long in a stretcher.  As we strolled around the corner, I was stunned at how many people were lined up along both sides of the hallway in stretchers.  For patients who came in via ambulances, their ambulance attendees dutifully stood next to them monitoring their vitals. They were all waiting to see an emergency room doctor. 

It took some time to calm my restless mother down.  She can no longer communicate, her speech is broken and jumbled.  It is almost like a guessing game trying to figure out what she is saying.  The hallway was getting more congested, and it was time for me to leave.  

Back in the waiting room, more people filled the room.  I now became aware that some of these people were waiting to be seen by a doctor, they must have been a walk-in.  They were prioritizing the patients according to the urgency of their need for care, triage.  We were all in the same boat, how long would we be waiting?

This felt like Déjà vu.  My mother had been to this hospital recently, in April and May, where they took her right in.  Looking at my watch, I saw it was way past my bedtime and I began to yawn.  It was now 12:30 am; we have waited 3 hours. 

A nurse popped in and called our last name.  After sitting so long, my knees were stiff but I limped along until the blood started circulating.  After a brief discussion with the doctor, he said they would run tests and do a chest x-ray.  “Go on home”, he said.  And so, we did. 

Then at 3 am we got a phone call. I dread late night calls; I imagine the worst.  I braced myself for the worst possible outcome.  The doctor said, “she does not have a collapsed lung.  She has pneumonia.  I feel she would be more comfortable at home than at the hospital.”  Yes, she would.  The doctor said, “We gave her antibiotics.  You can come and get her”.   

So … now two sleepless people had to get dressed and were headed back downtown to the hospital.  Mom is home and is doing fine.

Waiting

We all have times we must wait: traffic, grocery lines, DMV, doctor’s offices, etc.  Then there are seasons of waiting:  graduation, a degree, a new job, future spouse, pregnancy, vacation, promotion, retirement, etc.  We live in a fast-food, Google-it, 2-day Amazon delivery world and we expect things to happen quickly. 

But God works in the waiting.  It may feel nothing is happening, but God uses waiting to change us.  We may feel tired, miserable, frustrated, resentful, fearful, or anxious, but God will use this time to shape us.  He is working to transform our character to one like Christ’s.  I used to say, “But I already have character”.   Yeah, but does your character comprise Christ-like traits?   God will use this time to develop character traits that may need improvement or may be lacking.  Everyone is different but God could be working on your patience, compassion for others, and/or trust in Him. 

Although it’s hard to see it at the time, blessing can come from the waiting.  Many of the greatest characters in the Bible had to wait.  Consider Abraham waiting for a son, Jacob waiting for Rachel, Joseph waiting to reunite with his family, Moses waiting to deliver his people from Egypt, Noah waiting for the rains to come, and so many others.  Even Jesus had to wait to start his ministry.  In a way Jesus is still waiting, the rapture, the second coming.

If you feel you are in “The Waiting Room”, be open and discerning as to what God is trying to develop in your character.  Pray for God to give you peace and patience in the midst of your circumstances and most importantly, trust in His provision and timing.   

“And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.”  Hebrews 6:15