God with the patriarchs through hard times

I was taking coffee orders and delivering drinks to healthcare workers at Advent Health a few weeks ago. When we asked who else might like a drink (but might not be able to step away from what they were doing), one of the nurses suggested we check the “monitor room.” We followed her directions down the hall to an open door. In a room barely bigger than a walk-in closet, we met three women whose eyes were glued to what looked like at least 50 different monitors stretching up to the ceiling. Each had multiple images displaying heart monitor data and patient vital signs. There were steady lines with consistent rhythms, some with lights flashing and calls coming in and going out to discuss different monitor readings.

These three women were watching, evaluating and, when needed, taking action to assist the nurses and doctors for each of these patients at multiple different locations, not just at the hospital we were in. The ER had a set of monitors, there were patients in a telemetry unit on monitors as well as patients being monitored at smaller facilities around town–all under the watchful eyes of these three nurses, who made it look effortless. They were pleased to accept our offer to go pick up a drink for them, and we couldn’t have been happier to serve these ladies who so clearly had such important work in front of them.

As I listened to Pastor Adam preach about suffering and God’s role (or not) in the devastating moments we each encounter in life, I couldn’t help but think about the ladies of the Monitor Room. Seems as though God must feel like there’s a whole lot of looking-out needed, but ultimately, we each keep marching forward in our own unique ways. When our monitors don’t look great for one reason or another, God undoubtedly picks up the phone and calls it in. Not in a magical-fairy kind of way that leads to making things all better (“poof”), but I believe God calls it in to and through each of us, every single day. That calming presence that keeps you from over-reacting to something you know would normally make you lose your temper may be God’s notification you need to check your own vitals….Someone you haven’t heard from in a long time calls out of the blue just when you needed to hear a kind word, maybe God’s alert system let someone know you needed their care….Your heart literally stops beating and a girl scout with a CPR badge is in your grocery store, so maybe God’s movement on her young heart to be ready to care for her community changes the trajectory of your whole world.

I told the nurses this room was not adequately named. It could more appropriately be called “Command Central.” I’m in awe of both the vast level of responsibility one must feel to have that job, and the profound impact they have in supporting the nurses, physicians and patients across our city connected to those lifesaving monitors.

No matter what our vitals are or what direction we might turn–right or wrong–God is there at Command Central, with us through all our days. May we feel God’s presence when we need it the most, even if that’s a random sunny Tuesday afternoon.