It’s a helpless feeling, isn’t it?
Leaving loved ones on the stoop of hospital doors, entrusting healthcare workers to fill in the gaps we want to fill but can’t.
Lives lost, dream weddings postponed, jobs eliminated, and the inability to enter health facilities with loved ones being admitted, are just some of the situations we find ourselves in these days.
Several weeks ago, my stepmom took dad to the ER for a high fever. Saying goodbye at the stiffly guarded steel doors only to return alone to her car and wait was one of her hardest moments.
“The worst part of life is waiting. The best part of life is having someone worth the wait.”
When Jessica Brumley penned these words, she wasn’t referring to the same kind of wait, but the words still ring true, don’t they?
Choosing to see blessings beyond our circumstances is an act of faith.
Recently, I started creating sensory-based pauses (mini-devotions) for my subscribers to enjoy while in specific spaces. One month is it was the garden. Last month, a picnic. For each of the five senses, I offered a simple prompt to help push the pause button and focus on the goodness of God that stretches far beyond a steering wheel.
The simple act of focusing on God turns an upside-down world right-side up.
Today, “A Pause While You Wait” (including an inspirational page to color) is my gift to you. Feel free to share this post with your circle of friends because sometimes we don’t know we’ll need it until we do.
“You will keep the mind that is dependent upon you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you.” Isaiah 26:3
To download your copy of A Pause While You Wait, simply click here. The coloring page is included.
Is there some way I can pray for you today?
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Bi-weekly posts offer a pause of goodness to your busy days, and once a month, you’ll also receive a fun but pithy newsletter with the latest happenings in the Tiny House on the Hill, practical ideas for drawing nearer to God and loving others well.
So, come on over and sit a spell. I’d love to get to know you!
© Can Stock Photo / scottshoots
Hello my lovely friend. And your dad? Is he okay?
I have been thinking about you a lot lately, and wanted you to know that I so appreciated your card.
This post really hit home for me. I had to leave both of my parents at the nursing home back in March while they were in rehab. Like everyone else, we weren’t allowed to visit.
By mid-March, I received a phone call that my mom was being released. What a relief! I was so happy to have her home, I have been living with her since December 28 when my father went back into the hospital, and then to rehab.
On March 26, I received a phone call from the nursing home that my father was dying. They were surprised. They couldn’t believe how he went downhill so quickly. Could I go see him? No, they told me. Someone would be by his side during his last hours. On March 27, I received the phone call that they had found my father at 8am, and he had passed overnight.
As so many people during this pandemic, my father died alone in the nursing home with no one by his side.
While I know that so many of our deceased loved ones, especially his mother, my grandmother, were there to greet him, it is so upsetting that he had to do this alone.
Now, I’m living with my mom “til death do us part”. It’s taking a toll on my family for sure.
I think the most concerning for me, is that I haven’t cried for my father. I’ve been asking everyone if this is normal, and they tell me that it probably is, because I haven’t had time to grieve. That I was thrown (not the word I was looking for because it sounds so uncaring), into the role of caretaker, and then with the pandemic, and trying to work remotely from my mom’s house… it’s a lot.
Sometimes I wonder what the whole meaning of all of this is. I know that someday there will be an answer, but right now, I’m feeling a little let down. (For lack of a better phrase).
Yes, there is a blessing to all of this, and that it is that I’m able to work remotely and take care of my mom due to the pandemic. It’s giving me time to put a plan in place for when I do return to work!!
My love to you…. and my prayers that you and your family are safe and healthy. xoxo
Prudy
Oh Prudy! I am delighted to hear from you but I am very sorry for the loss of your father and the circumstances surrounding it. I’m no therapist but I agree with those you asked. It sounds like your temporary lack of tears could be a part of the grieving process. You’ve had so much going on that maybe your heart hasn’t had time to catch up with your head — and that’s okay. I am praying for you and for your mom. Please keep posted on how you’re both doing and don’t hesitate to email if I can pray for either of you confidentially. ((( HUGS ))) to you, my friend. Thank you for sharing.
Poignant! I’ve watched friends go through this; I can’t imagine.
Amen, Tammy. Have a blessed week!
Like you I’m sure, I’ve watched loved ones being rolled off to surgery. I’ve watched mothers send their children off to war. In every case, it’s heartbreaking. I could not imagine what it would be like to drop a loved one off that the hospital door. You watch, you long, yet it seems we become helpless when we are forced to surrender a loved to be alone through an unknown situation.That sense of helplessness requires us to release the thin veil of control we think we have over any situation and trust completely. That’s a difficult thing to do outside of God isn’t it? When my Ms. Diane was in the ICU and I was told I would have to leave her side, it was perhaps one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. I wanted to rail against the system and stay to protect and care for my beloved, but I also knew that if I did, she would not get the care she needed. So, I stood outside the door to the ICU, the entire night. Praying that God would watch over my “heart.” Praying that He would give divine wisdom to the caregivers; and that He would bring her through the crucible. As God is, He was faithful to deliver her through the night; and in time she awakened and recovered. Let go and trust is a hard but crucial part of loving others; and of allowing God to love and care for you. Wonderful post Ms. Cathy. Thank you for the sensory pause. God’s blessings ma’am.
Thank you for sharing your wisdom, JD. When we release our loved ones into another person’s care, it’s an act of faith to trust and rest in God’s faithfulness. Blessings to you and Ms. Diane! 🙂
J.D. Such a poignant illustration of the point Cathy brought up.
I couldn’t agree more, Marcia.
I can’t imagine leaving someone at the door of the hospital or nursing home. So hard. Thank you for this, great reminder to lean into Him as we wait in any circumstance.
Thank you, Tammy. I’m so glad you stopped by. Blessings, friend.
Cathy, I have close friends who had to leave loved ones at the hospital and get texts and calls from nurses and doctors. One friend’s husband even had emergency surgery. None of us enjoy being in God’s waiting room. But I love all the quotes and words here that inspire us to wait well. Especially this: “The simple act of focusing on God turns an upside-down world right-side up.”
I definitely have a new appreciation for health workers. I’d not thought about it until I read your comment but it added a lot more to their already full and overflowing plate. Thanks so much for taking the time to share, Karen. Blessings!
We are in tough times for sure, albeit times for growing our trust in God. The thing that is on my heart to share following my “waiting” is that times like these help me see the truth about just how much I trust God, what do I truly believe? There was nothing easy about it, but the peace that defies explanation never abandoned me. As always, your words are a God-send 🙂
Hard times do have a way of testing our faith, don’t they? Thank you for being such an inspiration and for holding the line of faith firmly as you moved forward through your situation. As for the last sentence you shared, I could definitely say the same. Love you, friend!