The Waiting Room: 60 Meditations for Finding Peace & Hope in a Health Crisis

By Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage and Scotty Smith

Whether you are the caregiver or the patient, the “what-if’s”of the waiting  room can feel terrifying, and the wait can feel agonizing. 

Whether cancer, tumor, stroke, traumatic injury, or major surgery, a health crisis of any kind involves waiting. And this waiting arouses many emotions: fear, uncerta

• Language: English
• Publisher: Living Story
• Release date: Jan 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9780998032115

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage, M.Ed., M.ACS., is an author, teacher, and story coach. When her son was diagnosed with a brain tumor while her father was also dying of prostate cancer, Elizabeth Turnage became a cancer caregiver, spending many long spells in many different medical waiting rooms. She and her husband, Kip, an orthopedic surgeon, love spending time with their four adult children and their spouses.

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If you are ever in a hospital waiting room, submerged in anxiety, weariness, and possibly grief—and you will be—feel blessed if you have this book with you. Especially if you are trying to be a person of faith. Elizabeth Turnage has sat in your chair and knows your pain, doubts, and fears. She also knows the God who brings comfort and healing to the distressed. This book—a mixture of memoir, insight into Scripture, prayers, prompts, and wise reflections on the experience of illness and suffering—is a great resource for those whose resources are fast draining away. No God talk, just talk about the faithfulness of God and how to embrace it.

DANIEL TAYLOR PHD

AUTHOR, CREATING A SPIRITUAL LEGACY, DEATH COMES FOR THE DECONSTRUCTIONIST (A NOVEL)

With acute accuracy Elizabeth names my deepest fears;

With gentle probing she invites me to trust my Father;

With an economy of words she creates space for faith to flourish.

SHARI THOMAS

FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF PARAKALEO

This brilliant book is a tender gift of the presence of God for those caught in the deep woods of medical uncertainty. When we are in the hospital waiting for resolution, we don’t need a long chapter of admonitions or vague mumblings of comfort. We need a guide who has traversed this terrain and has a compass and a map to help us orient our journey. Elizabeth Turnage offers a wisdom that has been hard won, meets the test of the gospel, and is beautifully and brilliantly written. I can’t recommend this book more highly than to say you need a copy for yourself and eventually for every friend or family member who is called to wait for redemption.

DAN B. ALLENDER PHD

PROFESSOR OF COUNSELING PSYCHOLOGY

FOUNDING PRESIDENT, THE SEATTLE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY AND PSYCHOLOGY

Elizabeth writes to anyone who finds themselves in the waiting room of God’s sovereign purposes. She meets us there as an empathetic friend reminding us what is true in His Word, urging us to listen to the refreshing lyrics of the gospel. She beautifully models what it means to lift our eyes to the Father who is faithful to meet us in the midst of our suffering.

KAREN HODGE

COORDINATOR OF WOMEN’S MINISTRIES

PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN AMERICA (PCA)

Waiting is a part of life. We wait in lines, to hear from a college, to get a job, to find a spouse, to have a baby, for a wayward child to return…. And we wait in medical waiting rooms: for a diagnosis, through a surgery, for news—hopefully good, too often bad. Elizabeth Turnage, in The Waiting Room, sits with us, offering understanding, peace and courage. She takes us right to our God through her personal story of waiting room ordeals, through God’s Word, in prayer. And she conveys perspective for the difficulty of today, comfort and strength for the ongoing journey and great hope for the future. This is a helpful book for all the waiting of our lives.

JUDY DOUGLASS

WRITER, SPEAKER, ENCOURAGER

DIRECTOR, CRU WOMEN’S RESOURCES

The Waiting Room records naked, raw truth about The Club of those who have suffered deep loss. Elizabeth’s honesty about her family trauma will draw you in and challenge your core assumptions. She invites you to refocus on the hope that disease, tears, and death are on a short leash. She invites you to engage scripture, worship music, prayer, and honesty with your Creator. This is a book that I will read multiple times as Elizabeth has shown me where God is in plain sight in the wilderness of suffering.

DR. PENNY NELSON FREEMAN

LICENSED COUNSELOR AND TRAINER

The Waiting Room will comfort me when I take a loved one to the hospital. Elizabeth’s love for Jesus and Scripture helps us when life is on pause. Her words guide us along green pastures and still waters when the noise from our fear seems overwhelming. I strongly recommend her book to anyone that has to wait as a dear one suffers.

REBECCA ALLENDER

CO-FOUNDER, THE ALLENDER CENTER; AUTHOR, HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

Elizabeth Turnage has often penned gracious and wise words that lead us back to gospel truth. In this interactive meditation, Elizabeth shares her own personal walk through pain and suffering. She writes with amazing clarity and honesty and makes the dark, painful moments as real to the reader as they were to her. While you journey with her through these hard spaces, you will also see how she found the light of God’s mercy and grace shining in the dark. Your heart will resonate with the struggle and be encouraged by the scriptures and prayer points. If you allow yourself to take this interactive journey of meditation, you may well find a place where your own heart will grow in trust and grace, even in the hard.

RUTH ANN BATSTONE

COUNSELOR AND MENTOR, SERGE; SENIOR STAFF CONSULTANT, PARAKALEO

Living Story www.elizabethturnage.com [e-mail]

©2019 by Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form—except for brief quotations for purpose of review or comment—without written permission from the author.

Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®)Copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2016.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (MSG) are taken from THE MESSAGE, copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: This book details the author’s personal experiences with and opinions about finding peace and hope from God in a health crisis. The author is not a healthcare provider. While the author and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to this book or its contents. The author and publisher disclaim all such representations and warranties, including for example warranties of merchantability and healthcare for a particular purpose. In addition, the author and publisher do not represent or warrant that the information accessible via this book is accurate, complete or current. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the author or publisher, nor any authors, contributors, or other representatives will be liable for damages arising out of or in connection with the use of this book. This is a comprehensive limitation of liability that applies to all damages of any kind, including (without limitation) compensatory; direct, indirect or consequential damages; loss of data, income or profit; loss of or damage to property and claims of third parties. The fact that an organization or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher or the author endorses the information the organization or website may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. This book provides content related to physical and/or mental health issues. As such, use of this book implies your acceptance of this disclaimer.

Volume discounts are available. Please contact the publisher at [e-mail] for information.Cover and interior design: Erik M. Peterson.Page composition: Charity Walton with Good Shepherd Publications

ISBN: 978-0-9980321-0-8 (print)ISBN: 978-0-9980321-1-5 (ebook)Library of Congress Control Number: 2018913459

Names: Turnage, Elizabeth Reynolds, author. | Smith, Scotty, 1950-, foreword author.

Title: The Waiting room : 60 meditations for finding peace and hope in a health crisis / Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage ; foreword by Scotty Smith.

Description: Includes bibliographical references and index. | Pensacola, FL: Living Story, 2019.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018913459 | ISBN 9780998032108 (pbk.) | 9780998032115 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH Health--Religious aspects | Caregivers--Prayers and devotions. | Sick--Prayers and devotions. | Consolation. | Cancer--Patients--Prayers and devotions. | Christian literature--Prayers. | Anxiety--Religious aspects--Christianity. | Peace of mind--Religious aspects--Christianity. | BISAC RELIGION / Christian Living / Devotional | BODY, MIND & SPIRIT / Healing / Prayer & Spiritual

Classification: LCC BV4910 .T87 2019 | DDC 242/.4--dc23

Table of Contents

Foreword

The Back Story

Introduction

How This Book Is Designed

Your Only Comfort

You Are Forgiven

Becoming Mature and Complete

God Rules Everything

Don’t Panic—He’s Got You

How to Pray

Knowledge That Will Change Your World

God Knows You

Live by Every Word

Your Troubled Heart

Sharing the Story

Prayer Requests: Inviting Community to Pray

Looking for a Better Place

Our Ultimate Question

God’s Answer

Comfort as You Have Been Comforted

I Know Whom I Have Believed

Loss of Dignity

Normal Grief

Change of Plans

‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

When You Are Lonely

Your Helper is Here!

Unfulfilled

All Will Be Well

Patience and Patients

Never Give Up

My Peace I Give

The Peace of God

The Community of Faith

When You Are Weak

Self-Care: Your Body Is a Temple

Searching for Signs of Redemption

When God Said No

When You Mistake Jesus for a Ghost

Steadfast

Jesus Has His Eyes on You

The Kindness of Strangers

The Embrace of the Father

The Wrong Question

Jesus Wept

Worth Waiting For

The Gentleness of Jesus

The Lord Is Near

Mat-Friends

What Is Healing?

Termites, Tumors, and Other Hidden Dangers

Count Your Losses

Count Your Blessings

Nothing Can Separate Us

Return to Normal

A Good Scar Story

Grieving in Uncertainty

Do You Believe in Miracles?

Everyday Miracles

An Angelic Army

Tough Decisions

The First Enemy: Satan

The Final Enemy: Death

The Wait Is Over!

Acknowledgments

Appendix

Notes

Complete Song List

Foreword

Thankful for five green lights out of six, I pushed, then broke the posted speed limit, as I raced to the nearest walk-in clinic. As Darlene struggled for her next breath, my rational concerns gave way to escalating fears. What if we don’t make it in time? How do you do CPR when someone’s having an asthma attack? How long will we have to wait in medical-lobby-purgatory?

This story isn’t from years ago, but days ago. Fortunately, we did make it to the Vanderbilt Walk-in Clinic in time and were greeted by an empty waiting room, as well as a nurse who rushed Darlene into a room for a breathing treatment. Soon, a most compassionate doctor provided great care and we were on our way home in less than an hour.

But that’s not always the case, right? All of us have stories of being stuck between the weight of uncertainty and the wait for good medical care—and the wait—hopefully, for healing.

Whether it’s an hour in the office lobby of a trusted, family doctor; or the long hours (days, weeks) spent at home waiting for pathology reports, medical treatments, or therapy results; or those unexpected health emergencies that happen on family vacations, out-of-town celebrations, or out-of-country missions trips—waiting is frustrating, inconvenient, and fear-fueling—a veritable incubator for vulnerability.

That’s why I am so excited about Elizabeth Turnage’s new book, The Waiting Room. My friend writes with a heart bent on