While We Wait (A Dad Update and a Word of Encouragement)

Waiting is rarely fun. 

Waiting for election results.

Waiting a month to take an MRI test (as in my Dad’s case with his cancer treatment).

Waiting for a pandemic to be over (will it ever be over?).

Waiting for a child to hopefully return to you and to Jesus.

Waiting in a fear-induced, longer-than-ever line at Costco, because the world is in a general state of anxiety and panic, and because surely filling our carts will soothe the inner angst. 

Line from the front all the way to the back of the store at Costco on Monday. What on earth?

(Dad & Shannon)

I can’t think of many situations when waiting is pleasurable, unless it’s in line at Garbanzos, when they give you a free falafel while you wait your turn to order Mediterranean cuisine.

Or maybe in the case of the neck and scalp massage they give you at some hair salons while you wait for your haircut and get your hair washed. Now, that I can handle.

OK…and maybe perhaps the never-ending supply of chips and salsa they bring you at your favorite Mexican food restaurant, while you wait for your entree (which you’re not even hungry for once it finally arrives!). 

With a few exceptions, I think we can safely say waiting is pretty much a drag. And yet, so much of our life is spent in either a literal or proverbial waiting room. 

Many of you have been waiting eagerly for an update on my Dad. You have been so gracious in all of your prayers and words of encouragement following my last blog post regarding his journey with Glioblastoma. Thank you so very much!

But, guess what?

We are now waiting! And here’s why…

This last Tuesday my Dad finished six weeks of radiation and chemo. He came through it swimmingly. He had some sleepy days and felt a little worn out, but overall he championed through. He continues to do his exercises and physical therapy, and his mobility and strength have improved in great measure. He’s gone from wheelchair to walker to cane! Woohoo! He has taken his medicine and our other “healthy concoctions” religiously. He has kept up his incredibly positive attitude and practiced his whistling daily! 

Ringing the bell after finishing radiation!

(Don Fogal)

And yet, now we must wait a month to go in for an MRI which will give us the latest, greatest update on whether or not the treatment has helped stop the progression of this very aggressive brain cancer.

Really? Another month? My Mom always told me not to use the “s” word, but may I just say, “Waiting sucks.” 

As it so happens, many years ago I wrote a song called “In the Waiting.” At the time I wrote it, I was in the waiting room of life for another challenging life issue. I needed reminding that waiting isn’t a punishment. It isn’t a sign of God’s ear being indifferent to my cries, nor His arm being too short to help me. At the time - and even now - I needed to write and declare that God is every bit as much in the midst of my waiting season as He is in those mountainous resolutions or victories.

In fact, sometimes lack of resolution - though I hate to admit it - is the incubator our souls need to come in close and surrender our everything to Him. It’s scary, precarious, and also incredibly freeing. 

Side note: Ever since I wrote that song, my closest friends and family have quoted the lyrics of “In the Waiting” back to me when I’ve been frustrated in yet another waiting season. Many times I have heard, “Shanny, I know this great artist and songwriter who wrote this song called ‘In the Waiting.’ You should really give it a listen. I think it would minister to you.” 

Ha-ha…thanks for the song tip. 

But the truth of the matter is that God is working in our waiting. It may feel like we are spinning our wheels and climbing the walls and like all of life hinges on this one (or two or three…) issue that simply must be resolved in order for me to be able to move on or be at peace again. 

And yet, our peace doesn’t really have to do with that at all. We are always in His hands. He is constantly at the helm - tending to us, directing us, soothing our battered souls and moving behind the scenes on our behalf.

Or maybe sometimes He’s actually asleep in the boat, yearning for and inviting us to hunker down with Him and simply rest a while.

What will we say to His invitation? Can we rest in the incompleteness of these moments?

And what about the times when all our waiting doesn’t turn out the way we hoped? I have had several very traumatic seasons in my life when the outcome of my waiting only led to disappointment and disillusionment.

Sometimes, when that happens, I go into default mode and start quoting Scriptures about His ways being higher than mine, and how He works all things together, etc.  And while there’s certainly nothing wrong with that and Scripture is powerful, sometimes I brush over things too quickly, don’t wrestle with them enough, and then find myself withholding pieces of myself from the Lord the next go around, because…well, can He really be trusted after the way He behaved last time?

The answer to that question is “Yes. He can.” 

Could it be that He is working in layers and dimensions so deep that, even when it makes no sense to us, He can still be trusted?

This God, who created the entire universe and beyond and who knit us together in our mother’s womb, is moving and loving so far beyond our comprehension that many aspects of our journey on earth will never make sense until we see Him face to face in the light of eternity. Could that be true, even through the foggy glass of life?

I think the answer is yes again. That’s the only explanation that really makes sense to me in light of His love.

And so I write this blog “in the waiting.” Most pressingly, I am waiting and asking God for a miracle for my Dad, and I believe He is able.

I’m sure you can name your most desperate situation right now too - the one you’ve been lifting up to the Lord for years or maybe a crisis that crashed into your life recently and you are still stunned.

Whatever it is, let’s just keep lifting these things up to the Father. Let’s keep throwing these pains and petitions back into His lap and at His feet. Let’s come in close and lean into one another as we do. And let’s ask Him to heal areas where we’ve lost our ability to trust Him.

And, while we do all these things, let’s keep whistling (of course!), worshipping (it is our lifeline), and reminding ourselves that He is always working in our waiting too. 

This is not wasted time.

He’s got this…

Join the conversation:

Oh, how I’d love to hear your “in the waiting” story. What are you waiting on now? How have you seen God work in the midst of your waiting season? In what ways do you need encouragement?

Please leave a comment below, if you feel so led! I’d love to hear from you, and so would my Dad! 

With Gratitude,

Shannon