GOD IS NEVER LATE

By Anne Chapman

This morning the devotional I was reading by David Jeremiah ended with “The child of God should rest in the knowledge that our Father in heaven has a plan – and He is never late.”

 

His statement propelled me back several decades when my husband was in the hospital for a serious life-threatening surgery.  We’d been down similar roads in the past. Each time, the one thing we both wanted most from the hospital was a private room, an environment where we could be alone, share our feelings, pray, deal with the post-surgery issues and have privacy apart from the rest of the world.  

 

It was so important, in fact, that it was difficult to face this surgery and its aftermath without the assurance we’d be coming back to a private room.  Our wonderful surgeon understood. He was worried. We actually had a “favorite” room, although at this point, we’d be grateful for any. However, things were different this time.  The hospital was full and overflowing. We prayed and waited.

 

In mid-afternoon a small lady from housekeeping came by to perform her chores.  She had a permanently lame foot and limped around while she mopped and cleaned. She asked how we were doing and we told her how important a private room was to us.  She stopped cleaning, looked at us, and said, “I’ll pray for you. Don’t worry. God is never late.”

The hours continued to click by.  About 10:00 p.m. the head nurse for the night shift came by.  She breezed in with a big smile and announced, “Get ready to move.  We have a private room for you!”  

 

It was almost midnight by the time we got settled in.  Tension melted off my husband and he was ready to face what may come.  God had sent a little housekeeping lady to participate in implementing His plan.

 

Early the following morning I saw the doctor in the hall and told him God had provided a private room, just in time!  He was overwhelmed and elated. Tension melted off him as well.

 

As Skip was being wheeled into the surgery area and around the corner out of sight, he flashed me his famous smile, waved and gave me a big thumbs up!  All was well.

 

Oh, and one last thing – The room turned out to be our “favorite” one!