Thanks be to God!

I know this is two posts in one day, but this was important to me. After weeks of waiting for diagnostic testing to follow up my bad mammogram, today was the day. Long time coming to be sure. And I was there for almost an hour and multiple views but the end result is that the all clear has sounded-Thanks Be to God! What happened while I was there was also very moving. After the check-in, and put the robe on, and have a seat in the waiting area, it is clear that I have now taken the last chair and there are 8 women all there for diagnostic work. Just as in the elevator, no one wants to be too close to strangers and yet, there we all are. I pick up the People magazine and sit down. The woman across from me smiles. So I comment on how I would never actually be seen buying the magazine but I can catch up on the beautiful people. Laughter. The woman next to me asks if there is anything good in there. We joke about Suri Cruise having her own stationery. Then the woman next to me says she is tired of the testing because this is a callback appointment. I offer that she must feel frustrated. She shares her story. Which prompts another woman to chime in and soon we are having our own little sharing session as we each of us in the room takes turns going in for tests, coming out and waiting, more tests and waiting. All with the "I know exactly how you feel" about healthcare, what we are here for, a little fear, and a little joking. A woman next to me also has other tests down the hall after this. But she emerges with the news she is free to go, as, fortunately, most of us do. One woman does not, and we all kind of sag under the weight of what is next for her. Our appointments ran slow and took longer than we wanted, but there in that place, God brought us all together to get us through that hour. This little impromptu group that just happened.