THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK: Patience

By Rev David Jones.

It was one of those times when I was in a hurry.  Having been in one of our denominational committees in which seemed to have gone on forever, I was on my way home and called in a motorway service station for something to eat.  The weather was bad and the prospect of a long drive home was not something I was looking forward to.  For the time of night I was surprised to see so many people waiting in one of the food areas.  However, that did not matter; I wanted something quickly and joined in with many others who were waiting to be served.

Have you ever been in the position of waiting around for someone to serve or even to show some sort of interest and there seems to be no one there?  People were getting impatient and some were walking away.  There was a lady at my side and I said to her ‘It looks like a long wait’ she replied ‘Maybe they are short staffed’   Time went on and still no sign of service.  Others in the queue started to complain, while some moved over to some of the other food outlets. – I said to the lady at my side ‘I’ve got a long way to go – what is the matter with people here!’  The lady said ‘Hasn’t the weather been bad today, rain again all day – it’s good to come into the warm and shelter’.

It was then a harried waitress said that there had been a power failure in their kitchen and nothing was working, apologising for the delay and inconvenience.  The lady smiled, and politely thanked the waitress and left. I stood there and realised that I had sought her approval for my attitude – which was far from the gracious way in which she had reacted to the situation. I left the café, picking up a sandwich at one of the many shops on my way out and began my drive home – only later it came to me that the lady had chosen to practice what I am called to preach!