January 2021 – Michele Huey

^“Consider the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” —Jesus, as quoted in Matthew 6:26 NIV

My son and grandson were riding along a country road one Sunday years ago when they spied a yellow-plumed bird alongside the road—a lone cockatiel, apparently abandoned. When they got home and told Rachael, she made them go back and get it. Never mind that their house was home to two dogs and two cats, not to mention the horse, pony, goat and chickens in the barn.

“How could you leave it there all by itself?” she chastised them.

And so “Lulu’ became a temporary member of the household. Fortunately (for my son, who did not want to add another member to the menagerie), Rachael found someone willing to give Lulu a permanent home.

“Aren’t you afraid it’ll fly away?” I asked when Rachael brought Lulu up for me to see.

“Her wings are clipped,” Rachael explained. “She can’t fly.”

How would she have escaped a predator if she couldn’t wing her way to safety?

The next day Rachael brought Lulu to visit again. “I found a home for her.” One of the teachers at my grandson’s school wanted her.

“But we’re going to keep her for a week.”

I could tell she wanted to keep Lulu. For a brief, shining moment I did, too.

Imagine—going from unwanted to wanted in a day.

Finding Lulu reminded me of an important truth—that God will never abandon us.

“Never will I leave you,” He promises. “Never will I forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

“Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands,” God assures us in Isaiah 49:15–16.

There are times you may feel abandoned, alongside a lonely country road or a busy thoroughfare of life. Cars pass you, occupants glance at you. But no one stops. Even God has forsaken you, you think. He doesn’t care.

But you’re wrong. Just because you don’t sense His presence doesn’t mean God isn’t with you. Cling to the promises He gives you in His Word.

“What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin?” Jesus said. “But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows” (Matthew 10:29–31 NLT).

Repeat to yourself: “I am valuable to God.”

And never forget it.

When I feel as though You’ve abandoned me, Lord, remind me of Your promise: “Surely I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20). Amen.

Read and meditate on Matthew 6:25–26.

Read and reflect on Psalm 13.

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD. —Psalm 27:14 NKJV

The phone rang while my husband and I were having supper. It was our youngest son, David.

“I’m on my way to the hospital,” he said. “I broke my arm playing first base.”

My heart sank. After enduring shoulder surgery and months of physical therapy a year and a half earlier, David, a pitcher, had worked hard to get back in form. The coach for his summer league team had been playing him on first and third bases for the games between his starts, planning to use him on the mound for the must-win games.

Nearly three hours later, David called back. The bone just above the wrist on his left arm—not his pitching arm, thank heaven—was broken clear through and was out of place.

“I have to come back to the hospital tomorrow for surgery to put the bone back in place,” he said. “I might need pins.”

After we hung up, I packed my bag for the next day with plenty of reading material, a crossword puzzle book, bottles of water and juice, and fruit. I knew it would be a long day in the hospital waiting room. There was nothing I could do but wait for the outcome — and worry how we’d replace the income from his summer construction job. Now, instead of playing in the big tournament or putting away money for school, he’d be nursing a broken arm, waiting for it to heal in time for fall ball.

More time is spent in life’s waiting rooms, I think, than on the field of play. Like the psalmist, I often cry, “How long, O LORD? How long? Will you forget me forever?” (Psalm 13:1)

I don’t like being benched in a waiting room, but I’m learning to deal with it. And I’m learning to deal with the disappointment, confusion, frustration, and anger that accompany the waiting. Oh, the emotions aren’t as intense as they once were, but still they pop up, undermining the faith that’s the foundation of my life: “Do you really believe God protects you and those you love? Maybe you didn’t pray enough. Maybe it’s all a lie.”

That’s when I open my Bible and do my faith-strengthening exercises. I like Psalms for low-faith times because the writer plumbs the depths of emotions that we, too, experience. Voicing his anguish and looking for answers that seem too long in coming, he reaches a turning point, where his questions collide head-on with faith: “But I trust in your unfailing love; and my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, for he has been good to me” (Psalm 13:5–6).

Maybe waiting time isn’t wasting time, after all. For the lessons learned in the waiting room and the work God does in us while we wait are much more valuable than the answer we think we should have. For the harder a thing is to attain, the greater will be the triumph.

When the questions are hard and the answers don’t come, when my faith falters and my beliefs grow brittle, remind me, Lord, the waiting room is where faith grows best. Amen.

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay

Michele Huey

Month: January 2021

Finding Lulu

In the Waiting Room

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