It was 85 degrees and sunny when we arrived at Busch Gardens this past Saturday, within two hours it was raining and in the low 60’s. We have always loved Howl-O-Scream, and I was excited for this year’s trip. But it turned out, in a word, miserable. I thought that the rain and cold would drive the crowd away, resulting in short lines, but that didn’t happen either.
About 7:30 I had all I could take, and so did the rest of our group. So the seven of us started making our way back to the Scotland parking lot, which is the lot used for overflow parking when the park is packed with people. We then made our way down to the road to McDonalds for dinner. Once inside, the seven of us ordered at one of the digital kiosks because no one was working the register. I always prefer to order with a person, it seems to help with the accuracy of my order, but we were forced to order on the screen. The night wasn’t getting any better. We then went to our table and started waiting. We waited, waited, and then waited a little more. Finally, I walked up to the counter to investigate the status of our order. I told the woman behind the counter that I was uncertain about my order, because I had not gotten a receipt. “The kiosks don’t give receipts” she replied, and didn’t say anything else.
By this time Beverley had joined me at the counter. We stood there wondering about our food, she knew I was frustrated, not just with our order but with our whole evening. And then she finally said, “well you know, that one man there is the only one preparing food.” And she was right. Then she pointed out the other two workers who were trying their best to keep the drive-through moving. “It looks like they are extremely understaffed” she said, and again, she was right. I was frustrated as I waited, but the three employees were working as hard as they could. And then standing there in McDonald’s I realized, what I needed more than my chicken sandwich meal was patience and grace.
Our culture seems to be on edge with each other these days. Read the news, watch a School Board meeting on YouTube, bring up the topic of masks or vaccines or any number of front page stories, you will see it. Just broach any one of the questions concerning sexuality, LGBTQ rights, or the phenomena of choosing pronouns or a restroom, and you will see it. Ask a handful of people about the evils of racism and how it should be addressed, and you will see it. People are frustrated and angry. And even those of us who have made the decision to follow The Prince of Peace find ourselves sucked into this exhausting and joyless narrative of anxiety, stress, anger, and division.
We need a lot of things right now, but as much as anything we need to be people who offer grace and patience with one another. We have all been affected by a historically trying twenty months. We have been bruised and battered, divided and pulled apart, and our community (and our world) needs to have patience with one another. We have a calling from God to demonstrate grace to other Christians, to our neighbors, and even to our “enemies.”
While this time has been trying and no one would have wished the hardships we have faced, we find in it a wonderful opportunity to clearly demonstrate what life in the Kingdom is like. We have the chance to show what lives will look like when God’s “kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.” We have the chance to recognize that God’s invitation doesn’t come just in our sanctuary, but in the real world, standing cold and wet in McDonalds.