God's Waiting Room

It was a nice place, God’s waiting room, but anything got old after 120 years. Mary knew going in that the average wait for a one-on-one with Him was 150 years, but at the time she thought that was worth it. Now she wasn’t so sure.

Time stopped within the boundaries of the room. She didn’t age. She didn’t need to eat, drink, sleep or pee. It was always 72 degrees and sunny, with a slight breeze. When she finished here, she’d step back into her life a moment after she’d left, and no one would know she’d been gone. In the meantime, she would have had a private conversation with God.

She’d heard about the opportunity from a man she’d met living in a cave in Nevada. She’d been on a month-long backpacking trip, hoping to find spiritual wisdom. He’d been living in the cave for years and was the wisest person she’d ever met. “Not many know you can do this,” he said, “and not many would even if they knew. You have to wait a long time, because God squeezes these audiences in between His many other duties. You'd be better advised get alone and spend time in deep prayer. He'll hear you faster.”

“But if I do this, I get to hear His end of the conversation, too.”

The man nodded. “That's why some find it worth the wait.”

“Have you done it?”

“I waited 100 years before I decided I didn’t need to see Him. I came back here and have had conversations with Him every day since then.”

When Mary heard that, she’d thought the man wasn’t as wise as he’d seemed. Surely a wise person would have waited another 50 years for that opportunity. Now she was here, only 30 years away from her audience, and she was seriously considering leaving.

The garden was just as pleasant as it had been when she arrived. She wasn’t uncomfortable in any way. The difference was that she’d had 120 years to think about things, and she felt like she got it now. She didn’t need to audibly hear His end of the conversation. After spending so much time here, she would know what He said whether she heard Him or not.

Mary found the path that led out of the garden, and a moment later she was back in the wise man’s cave, sitting by the fire. He grinned at her. “Did you have your conversation?”

Mary shook her head. “I waited 120 years. Then I realized I didn’t need to stay any longer.”

He nodded. “Then you have achieved your goal and found wisdom.”

Mary finished her backpacking trip, and when the time came, she went back to her job in Portland. She didn’t tell anyone about what she’d experienced, but it seemed they sensed it anyway. People sought her out for advice, whether or not they took it. Her friends found that spending an evening with her always left them feeling better than they had before. Her boss gave her a promotion, and when Mary turned it down because the new job would eat up too many hours, he found that he understood.

And Mary was happy. That was the big thing. Mary was happy.