What Am I Waiting For?

     The last few days have been stressful. My niece, Amanda, who is in college in Nampa, ID, has felt unwell since she returned from Christmas break. After her second visit to the campus physician, he referred her for blood work which showed low platelets and low white blood cells. Sunday they hospitalized her and Monday they drew bone marrow. When I looked up the combined symptoms of feeling faint, vomiting, drenching (supercharged night sweats) and low blood levels, none of the diagnoses were good. Amanda is in her first year of college. In all the uncertainties she had about her future, attending Northwest Nazarene was her one clear beacon. She thinks she might become a teacher and knows she wants to be a wife and mother. Blood cancer, although much more treatable than in the past, would jeopardize all that.
     I prayed. But I also worried. So I asked the Lord what He would say to me when my heart was afraid. He said, "Wait". I didn't know if that meant wait because good news was coming or wait because there would be plenty of time to worry after the diagnosis. (Sometimes we worry as if it was a limited time offer.) So every time my mind wandered in the what if direction, the Spirit said, "Wait". Fortunately, I do not need to understand what God means, I only need to obey.
     By divine coincidence, today's BSF notes had much to say about waiting. David waited 15 years to become king. Waiting is not passive, while we wait we actively seek God in prayer and scripture. Waiting is not a waste of time. God would not command us to do that. And waiting is not about missing out on what we want, but being content with what we have. The hospital said it would take five days after the biopsy to get results, but my sister texted this afternoon, one day after the procedure, with the good news that it is not leukemia.   Of course, they still need to do blood work and find what caused the problem, but Amanda can do that as an outpatient.
     That news must be what I was waiting for because my heart is no longer fearful. I cannot help but think of our son's dog, Odin, who Tracy trained not to eat the treat balanced on his nose while he says"Wait!". After Odin obeys the wait command, Tracy says "Okay" and Odin eats the treat before it even hits the floor. This means, after 46 years as a Christian, I am almost as obedient as the dog. But then, the dog knows exactly what he is waiting for, it is laying on his nose. I may not know what I am waiting for, but I know who I am listening to--my Master's voice.