tenDANCE---NEW WORD, NEW DANCE

Tendance is a word in and of itself. Who knew? Not I.

At least not until this morning.

 Here's what I found---

Definitions of tendance

n. - The act of attending or waiting; attendance. ²
n. - Persons in attendance; attendants.

Waiting jumped off the page and into my psyche. Visions of a "waiting room" loomed.

No one was dancing for sure as waiting is difficult even if it's God's waiting room. For us, this week has had people "waiting" with us. Prayerfully in "attendance" from coast to coast and across the "big pond, " they call and text and encourage.

Sarah Young's reminder in Jesus Always March 4 entry was so timely!!!

• Blessed are his who wait for the Lord. (Isaiah 30:18)
• Waiting patiently does not come easily but can be good for us.
• Those who obediently wait can build up equity for not-yet blessings.
• The waiting process can be beneficial. 
• Waiting keeps your "soul on tiptoes" as you look up to Me in hope! (emphasis mine)
• Acknowledge the One who is in control and rest in His goodness.

May all of us in this "adoption" waiting room put on our "dancing" shoes and allow Him to lead us in our tenDANCE that we might glorify Him as we wait!

Passing Time While Waiting

Can't waiting be more than just "whiling away the hours?"

Spending time at West Clinic today as I waited for a friend's radiation treatment to "finish up," I picked up a book, to "finish up" my morning read.  Roger Rosenblatt's, making toast, "a painfully beautiful memoir....how people die out of order." (E.L. Doctorow)

It became more than "passing time" as I came across a few jewels. 

When the author's grandaughter responded to her "Boppo's" comment that children have no power... 

"That's not true, Boppo," she said. "We have the power of thought and kindness." (p. 159)

Rosenblatt's summation of a book review he had written (Deaf Sentence) concerning Desmond  Bates visit to Auschwitz, " '...I see how one was unable to value the passing time.' "

"As far as I can tell, this is how to live---to value the passing time." (p. 157)

 A needed reminder ---when in a season of waiting, value the passing time. 

"The Wait"

I'm typing as I sit in the "gowned waiting area" at the Methodist Hospital Breast Center. Trust me, gown is a loose term---real loose! Though one lady across from me seems to have on a deluxe model which actually has some oomph in the fabric and it actually covers her torso.

It's the waiting that is hard. My turn next.

Just a week ago I was at a different doctor for a biopsy and then came the real wait. Waiting for test results. Two days later a  "good" report was given. Today a different scenario but same need for waiting.

3D  screening complete. Doc will review. Please return to the waiting area. 

Just a month ago, my dear friend was in this place and a "wait" ensued after diagnosis of "biopsy needed" was given. Results showed cancer. More waiting as an MRI was ordered. Results showed more cancer on a different side. More waiting. Surgery needed. Doctors needed to coordinate their schedules. More waiting. Surgery schedule for 3 weeks later---therein was the real waiting. Surgery seemed successful with post-op positive indicators....BUT.....more waiting  needed for the official results.  

So what does one do while she waits. Pray. That's the easy answer, yet it's hard to do when one is right in the midst of the wait.  A wait filled with concern. A perfect time for intercessory prayer.

"Mrs. Liles." Diagnostic needed. Enter darkened room for further pictures.....two places on the left breast.  A least the "goop" is warm. 

Four years ago I had observed women in this situation in a  Waiting Room Angst blog entry.
As I wait in this dark place, it helped to go back and read it.

Ultrasound complete. Please wait in here until the doctor can review.

Renee returns. It's okay. Pretty sure it's a benign cyst.
You may go now....We'll just WAIT and watch.

Waiting Room Angst

6/30/11 Frustration loomed as I had to ONCE AGAIN, declare my gender, race, SS #, etc. Somethings don't change folks----so why after coming to this same doctor's office for 25+ years do I have to fill it out yet again? Were others as frustrated with this clipboard conundrum? I glanced around the waiting room. Mostly old folks. Only one with a cell phone---how rare is that! Most looking at their toes or a magazine. No one looking up. One coughs, others lean away. All waiting as announcement blares, "patient for Dr. Finn." Each hopeful that they might be "said patient." Nurse appears at the door. Patient's name is called. Others resume their unresponsive waiting posture in the drab chairs of the "waiting" room.

Waiting seems to be hard for all of us, especially when the answer might be "negative"---waiting for the possible pink slip, waiting for the diagnosis, waiting for the RX that will offer us hope, waiting for the Lord, whose voice seems to be faint.
For today, my diagnosis wasn't perfect but nothing out of the "aging ordinary." Steps will be taken. Different paths tried. More waiting will take place as different meds are adjusted, 'til right prescription is found, hopefully without bad side effects.

All of this has me coming to realize that waiting doesn't have to be passive. Action continues. Steps are taken. Different procedures are tried or paths taken while waiting on the best direction.
Sounds like the Christian life to me. Right now I'm still waiting on the Lord for direction in several areas. Maybe some of it will be trial and error while I continue to seek Him.

Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:14)

Kneeling in God's waiting room, I await more divine information. As it comes, I'll share it. You'll just have to wait along with me.

Waiting Rooms

7/13/10 We have all been in different periods of waiting in our lives---sometimes in actual rooms. Waiting rooms in labor and delivery are fun places to be. Not so much so in an ICU waiting room. Today’s trip to West Clinic to wait for info on Mommar was somewhere in between those beginning and ending extremes.

I’m not sure what I expected---maybe a sterile environment with people slumped in chairs under a spell of self-pity, dwelling on their own sorrow or disappointment. Would there be tears of despondency? I knew there would be tears from brother-in-law Bill. He had cried yesterday during her birthday celebration.

There were lots of different waiting rooms at West clinic---somewhat warm and inviting, especially considering the circumstances. But the room that I saw that seemed to be filled with the most smiles was the one full of the folks in the recliners waiting for the completion of their chemo treatment. Maybe it was because these people had hope that their treatment would give them more tomorrows.

Not only does our sovereign Lord not leave us during a time of suffering, He gives us hope for “better tomorrows.” He gives us a course of action, a place to turn---toward Him. The invitation of Hebrews 4:16 is open to all who are in God’s waiting room. "Let us, therefore, come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." If you are there, in a period of waiting, boldy approach the One who is the Giver of grace and mercy. You will find it in your time of need even as you “wait.”