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

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. Cancer, tumor, stroke, traumatic injury, or major surgery—a health crisis of any kind involves waiting. This waiting arouses many emotions: fear, uncertainty, sorrow, agony, and anger among them. In this devotional for caregivers and patients, Elizabeth Reynolds Turnage reminds us of the certain hope and surpassing peace of the gospel: God has worked miraculous deeds and redemptive wonders in the past, and Jesus will “soon” come again to end our wait, and to bring full and final healing. These sixty meditations for peace and hope will encourage you as you wait.
Endorsements:
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 PresidentThe 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, as 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) Each meditation includes: A relevant Bible verse. A brief story related to waiting in a health care crisis. A gospel reality that brings peace and hope. A brief concluding prayer. One or two suggestions for further action—Bible reading, links to music, reflection questions, other calming activities.