Surely some of you remember life before the ATM, before the days of direct deposit, and Interac?
I have an aversion to standing in lines; I was reminded why last week. My memory bank rolled back to 1979. It was a Friday afternoon and I was going to deposit my pay before officially starting the weekend. An individual, who will remain anonymous, was waiting for me in the car while I waited in line, and waited, and waited. Suddenly, a commotion – the noise of a car horn blasting turned the heads of EVERYONE in line. It continued. I turned around and sure enough it was the person waiting for me. We locked eyes while his arms flailed around between the intermittent blasts of the horn. “HURRY UP!” were the words mouthed as the horn continued.
You might as well have painted me red; I couldn’t have stood out more than I did. Everyone could see it was me that horn was meant for. Oh, I could have left without doing my banking but if I had the blaring sound of a horn would have been a welcomed pleasure by comparison to what was in store for me. Ever since that day, I detest waiting in lines – not so much because I’m impatient – mostly because that haunting memory left an impression on me.
The other day I was waiting in line at the ATM – an infrequent occurrence. Instead of getting all tense, I started giggling to myself. We’ve all heard stories and jokes about what it will be like when we “check into” Heaven . . . you know . . . waiting in line at the Pearly Gate, making sure St. Peter has our room reserved. I began wondering, will anyone lose it in line? Will there be cut-ins? Will tempers flare? Will the sound of deep sighing fill the air? Will St. Peter have to call for backup if someone isn’t pleased with their new accommodations? I seriously doubt it.
Then it dawned on me. Shouldn’t I be waiting in line as if I’m waiting to check in to Heaven? Now that is something I’ll definitely have to consider the next time I find myself standing at the tail end of a line that seems to be going nowhere.
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him,” Col. 3:17
