Thoughts on waiting and expectation

As I drove home from the emergency department along Beaufort St past a few nightclubs, still with long lines of potential patrons waiting to get in, I was struck by the similarity between their wait and mine. How on earth do they manage to line up in the cold, wearing those ridiculous outfits (yes, I know, I am so very old and stodgy), so eager to continue their evening despite it being so long past midnight? All I wanted to do was be horizontal in my warm pjs in my own bed. And it was all I could do to stay alert and keep track of two nurses and one doctor in the artificial brightness of the emergency department. How do they hope to keep any grip on events in the dimness of a black-walled club, with or without the influence of alcohol? I can't believe I was once exactly the same as them.

And yet, they and I had each been waiting patiently because we hoped for something... for them, I suppose it was the hope of a thrill, the hope of having fun, maybe the hope of meeting that illusive "someone special". For me, it was the hope of finding relief for my son's debilitating illness, the hope of receiving confirmation and resolution to my fears, the hope of meeting that (not at all illusive at PMH) kind doctor who would treat my son gently and with compassion. Just going on my own (now far distant, I admit) experience in night clubs, I am guessing I was far more likely to have my hopes fulfilled than they were. But I definitely wasn't sure or certain that my hopes would be fulfilled.

In between our arrival at the hospital and Joshua being seen by the doctor, I was sure that we were going to enter the doctor's presence, and certain that the situation would be dealt with. But I didn't yet actually see the doctor, nor had Joshua yet experienced his hands-on care. The Christian faith is a waiting game, just like the one I experienced at the Emergency Department. The writer of Hebrews said (11:1), "Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see."

I am sure of what I hope for: that one day, Jesus Christ will return in His glory, to judge the living and the dead.

I am certain of what I do not see: that Jesus Christ is reigning in heaven at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for me to the Father, so that I am justified in God's sight.

That is what I mean when I say, "I have faith". And so, right now, I am content to wait patiently until I see my faith fulfilled.