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    In The Waiting Room: Finding Hope And Inspiration When Facing Disappointment
    In The Waiting Room: Finding Hope And Inspiration When Facing Disappointment
    In The Waiting Room: Finding Hope And Inspiration When Facing Disappointment
    Ebook108 pages1 hour

    In The Waiting Room: Finding Hope And Inspiration When Facing Disappointment

    By Paula J. Campbell

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    About this ebook

    Are you struggling with being single...
    ...when you don’t want to be?
    In a world that celebrates being in a relationship, with a church culture that elevates the value of marriage and family – it can be tough being single.
    Those who are not married, but would like to be, often experience emotional pain and loneliness. They often hide that pain, not wanting to reveal their vulnerability to those around them.
    In The Waiting Room examines the experience of a single Christian woman waiting to find “the one”. It explores issues such as:

    Self-esteem
    Childlessness
    Unanswered prayer
    Disappointment, and
    How all this affects our faith

    This book highlights the struggles that can turn waiting into a frustrating and painful experience. Yet waiting positively and patiently is essential for our character development and can strengthen our faith in God.
    With open and honest reflection, personal anecdotes, and the examples of biblical characters who faced and overcame personal challenges in their lives, the author offers hope, inspiration and encouragement for singles.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTuari
    Release dateMar 14, 2017
    ISBN9780995572515
    In The Waiting Room: Finding Hope And Inspiration When Facing Disappointment

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      Book preview

      In The Waiting Room - Paula J. Campbell

      INTRODUCTION

      As we journey through life, we may be faced with many situations that we find challenging – financial problems, health problems, relational and family issues, work and business problems, to name a few.

      One of the issues that I have struggled with is singleness, and there have been times when I’ve felt down as a result of the impact it has had on my life. I don’t believe we were made to go through our whole life alone; we all need support.

      Ecclesiastes chapter 4 tells us,

      "Two can accomplish more than twice as much as one, for the results can be much better. If one falls, the other pulls him up; but if a man falls when he is alone, he’s in trouble. Also, on a cold night, two under the same blanket gain warmth from each other, but how can one be warm alone?

      And one standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back to back and conquer; three is even better, for a triple braided cord is not easily broken."

      (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, TLB)

      Don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating having a love triangle! The triple braided cord that these verses speak of signifies having God as the third person within a relationship, making it incredibly strong.

      This all sounds great, but in reality there are people who are not married who would love to be.

      Some people experience emotional pain and loneliness as a result of this situation, but they often hide it. No one wants to reveal how vulnerable they feel.

      Though a great many things have changed in the 21st century, some things have not changed much. When it comes to fundamental human relationships, men and women still want to love and be loved.

      My expectation was that I would find someone I loved and wanted to settle down, get married to them and have children. It didn’t seem like an impossible dream – it’s a pretty normal occurrence on planet earth. So there was no reason for me to think that this experience wouldn’t be mine. It has therefore come as a shock to find, as a mature Christian woman, that things haven’t quite worked out as I’d planned.

      Being surrounded by couples and families in society, and seeing media coverage of celebrity relationships and the Royal family – William, Kate, little George and baby Charlotte – it is sometimes a struggle to be happy and content with being single for so long.

      This book, then, is a result of my experience and looks at some of the issues that I’ve encountered and battled with along the way. We all have our ups and downs and as hard as we may try, sometimes we need a helping hand through those times when we feel down. Maybe a few words of encouragement will help. Knowing that someone else understands how we feel can really make a difference.

      In this book I share things that have helped me. During difficult times I have found a great deal of encouragement from the Bible and have explored the experiences of some biblical characters who are real to me. I can identify with the challenges they faced and their heartfelt pain. I am strengthened by the knowledge that they made it through. My hope is that you will find encouragement in this book for your life journey and that you will be able to encourage someone else along the way.

      I have included, at the end of each chapter, Bible verses that have encouraged me. I hope they do the same for you. Please choose a verse that you like, read it, meditate on it, and read it at different times throughout the day. If possible, memorise those verses that touch your heart and are relevant to your situation. There is also a section where you can write a prayer to our Heavenly Father, to tell Him how you feel about your situation. God is a good listener who hears and answers prayers. I pray this book will help you to know that He is able to be there for you as you face personal challenges in your life.

      Be encouraged,

      Paula

      Chapter One

      IN THE WAITING ROOM

      Lord, how long must I wait? Will you forget me forever? How long will you turn your face away from me? How long must I struggle with my thoughts? How long must my heart be sad day after day?

      (Psalm 13:1-2, NIRV)

      How many times in your life have you found yourself stuck in a situation, just waiting? Waiting for something … or someone?

      Stuck in a waiting room.

      I remember once sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s surgery – for what seemed like an eternity – waiting for my appointment. It became annoying after a while, because this time round I had actually taken the time to make an appointment! I could understand having to wait on the occasions when I’d dropped in as an emergency patient. Then I knew that I was in for a long wait – especially when I saw the trailer-load of people who were also waiting. But I had an appointment, so the least the doctor could do was see me on time! But I had to wait … and wait. Okay, I can wait 5 minutes, but come on, 40 minutes?!

      Several things went through my mind during this time.

      •Why me? Why am I having to wait instead of being seen on time? What’s the point in making an appointment if you are not going to be seen at that time? I had a sense of entitlement. I had kept my side of this arrangement; I had turned up on time; so I was entitled to be seen on time.

      •It’s taking too long! I knew the doctor was busy, but I had a life to be getting on with. I didn’t want to waste my time waiting!

      •What’s going on here? I could see that other people, who had come in after me, were being seen before me! This just wasn’t fair. It was unjust!

      •Have I been forgotten? I wondered if, for some reason, the doctor had overlooked me, somehow deciding that my needs were not as important as those of his other patients.

      •I don’t like the way things are done here! The way this place is run is rubbish, I thought. I’m sure I could do a better job of organising things!

      •I’m fed up with all this waiting! Any second now I’m leaving! I told myself.

      Okay, it crossed my mind, but I didn’t actually leave. After I had concluded that leaving would only hurt me, and I wouldn’t get the help I came for, I sobered up and stuck with it until I got to see the doctor.

      I discovered a few things that day.

      Firstly, I found out that waiting was not my strong point. Secondly, I realised that getting upset about it didn’t change one single thing and it definitely didn’t make the time go any quicker. Lastly, I knew I needed to learn patience, and how to wait with a better attitude.

      As I recall, to alleviate my concerns I’d asked the receptionist if I had been forgotten. She assured me that I had not been – that it had been a very busy surgery that day and I would definitely be seen. After that, instead of moaning some more, I’d decided to read a magazine to take my mind off the wait.

      In retrospect, I realise I should have done that in the first place. It

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