The Waiting Game

"they shall drive"

Daniel 4:32

Man, what a day. 

It started off fairly normally, but then I decided today was the day to head to the DMV.

Thank you for your sympathies. 

Though my daughter is well past 17 years old, she has yet to get her driver's license.  When she was 16, she just didn't feel ready, and we certainly didn't feel the need to push her.  But over the past few months, she has taken and passed the class, so it was time to get her permit so that she could start getting behind the wheel. 

Now, these days you can make an appointment before you go to the DMV, but when I tried, the earliest appointments were several weeks out.  So I decided to take my chances just showing up.  (You can also go online to find out what the current wait times are, so when I saw they were low, we hurried over there.)

And it went pretty well.  We only waited in line less than 30 minutes, which seems fairly reasonable to me.  We had her birth certificate, we had her social security number, and we had her certificate of course completion of the Drivers' Training Class.  The man behind the counter looked at everything, assigned us a number, and told us we'd get called to a window in just a few minutes.

Two hours later, we were called to a window.

At which point, our paperwork was filed, and she was given the test to take.  Then my boy and I sat a few minutes longer and waited for her.  Then she turned her test in and the three of us sat for a few more minutes while her test was graded. 

She passed.  Yay!

My point is:  a lot of sitting and waiting.  A lot.  I read for a few minutes, and the kids and I played several rounds of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but most of the time we just sat and waited, and people-watched. 

The DMV is a fabulous place to people-watch.  I think it's because there is no one who doesn't have to deal with the DMV.  It's the Great Equalizer.  Rich or poor, young or old, US-born or naturalized citizen, of every conceivable race.  And as I sat there and looked around, I thought of how God feels toward each of these people. 

I loved two people in that building ~ the two who were related to me.  But when we got called to a window, we had a little trouble (I had written down my daughter's social security number wrong and needed to call my husband to give it to me again.)  The woman who assisted us was so helpful and understanding; I felt like she was on our side.  

In addition, I did a little bit of chatting with a few of my fellow prisoners.  The woman in front of us in line, and two women sitting behind us in the waiting area. 

So by the time we left, I loved two people, and liked one person, and felt pleasantly toward a few others.  And it occurred to me that for the most part, liking people is all about knowing them.  The more you know someone, the more you like them. 

Now, of course, the more you know someone, the more you know their flaws, too, but that doesn't necessarily mean you won't like them. 

So there's God, on His throne, looking down on all of these people He has created... the young guy with all the tattoos... the woman behind the counter who never smiled.... the older couple who chatted quietly the whole time as if the rest of us didn't exist... and that mom and two kids who passed the time playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon...

People, people and more people.  In my county, in my state, in my country, on my planet.  And He knows and loves each and every one.  Amazing. 

~ "Behold what manner of love 

   the Father has bestowed on us, 

that we should be called children of God!" ~

1 John 3:1

~