Today on my way home from the hospital I got two phone calls from John. The first one I didn’t hear because I was getting gas. It is very unlike him to call me on the way home. Usually he just waits for me to call him.
I called him back as soon as I could. There were a million things running through my mind. The first being that I was going to have to turn right back around because a heart had come for him. I am keeping my big suitcase for my two-week stay after John’s surgery in the car. I take my toiletry bags every morning, too, and then just bring them back in each night. So I am always prepared to get that call.
John proceeded to tell me that Dr. Rogers, his primary cardiologist, came by and told him that he got a call for a heart for John. The heart was too small, but he went on to say that John is the only person on status 1A in our region, region 11, right now. So the first heart that comes available in our region, and meets the requirements that John needs, goes to John.
Since the beginning of the summer my ladies Bible study has been studying the book of Ruth. Interestingly enough the past few days in the study has been about patience in waiting. Ruth endured a lot of waiting after she moved to Bethlehem with Ruth. First, Ruth had to wait until morning to find out if Boaz would become her kinsman-redeemer or if it would be the man who was nearer in kin. Then, Naomi told her again to wait, to continue to wait.
However, Naomi said something else that is important to the waiting John and I are doing right now. “Then Naomi said to her, ‘Just be patient, my daughter, until we hear what happens. The man won’t rest until he has settled things today.’” (Ruth 3:18) Kelly Minter, the author of the Bible study Ruth Loss, Love, & Legacy, explains this verse perfectly when she wrote, “Even while we’re waiting and it seems like nothing is happening, God is still working.”
Sometimes right now it feels like nothing is happening. We’re just sitting around waiting and waiting with no end in sight. But it’s important to remember that even though it seems like we’re just idly sitting by, God is not at rest. He is working through John’s doctors and the transplant team. They are actively and busily pursuing the best heart for John, and they will not rest until it’s settled. God is giving them everything they need to make the best decisions for John’s health and future. They are hard at work. This is obvious from Dr. Rogers’s words to John today.
Our role in actively waiting is being surrendered to God like Ruth was. She did not panic or rush God’s timing. She did not disobey Naomi. She patiently waited through meditation and prayer until God gave her an answer.
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