First Baptist Church of Herndon

Reaching Out

Linda Soller | Jul 06, 2015

Recently my husband had surgery. While any surgery is risky we were not expecting an extended stay in the hospital or any complications. I was not particularly worried. The day of the surgery I sat for hours in the waiting room with my IPad, books, magazines, an overnight bag for my husband, and the always lovely plastic bag holding the clothing he wore in that morning. Around me were people of all ages, races, nationalities, and I am sure religions. There were groups, couples, and solitary individuals like myself. You could tell, looking at their faces, some surgeries were more serious than others.

At any given time I would see someone sitting quietly, eyes lowered, maybe praying, maybe meditating, certainly in a place of reflection. Reaching out to God comes more easily, I dare say naturally, when we find ourselves in a difficult place. When matters are out of our control, when we fear for ourselves or our loved ones, or when we face the unknown, we seem to find reaching out to God a comfortable option. Maybe we see it as our only option. Don’t get me wrong. Reaching out to God in times of trouble is a good thing. God is there waiting to support us, wanting to help us. I just wonder why we find it so much easier during difficult times, and why so many don’t reach out during the not so difficult times.

Once our trouble passes do we put God on the night stand with our Bible? When all seems routine or normal do we pat ourselves on the back for having life under control? When our loved ones are fine they can almost become invisible, much like God disappears from our daily thoughts. That day, I like many others in the waiting room, found myself reaching out for God in a time of trouble. I prayed for the surgeon’s skill as he operated on my husband, for the older couple who waited for their daughter’s surgery to end, for the man whose wife was having cancer related surgery, and for the wife and daughter who waited anxiously for their husband/father to be repaired to a place of less pain. Having done that, I also prayed for the amazing knowledge and skills of the many doctors, nurses, and technicians who work to save lives. I thanked Him for the church family I have, whose prayers were being lifted on our behalf. I asked God to touch the people in that big waiting room and help them recognize the oneness of humanity, which knows no color, race, or nationality. I thanked Him for the internal peace I felt and confidence I had in His handling of the situation. Not sure, but I may also have asked Him to help me not get lost driving home that night, as I went through all the road construction. Reaching out to God should not be easier or harder based on the situation we’re in. Reaching out needs to become second nature. It needs to be what we do in good times and bad. Best of all it’s never too late to start reaching out.

 Have a great week! :o)  Linda

A big - WE MISS YOU Angel. Glad you are safe at home, but we sure loved having you visit!