Sitting in the Fast Lane

I needed to go to pick up some more laundry detergent at Target so that I could finish the week's laundry, so I volunteered to deposit the paycheck on my way. The credit union that we patronize is a block away from Target, so theoretically the trip should be relatively short. Theoretically. Ha! Our credit union is evidently very busy on Friday afternoons. All three of the drive-thru lanes were open. The lane with the fewest cars was the third one (farthest away from the building). Now, you would think that all the lanes would move along at a similar pace. But, no, it appears that the last drive-thru lane is the one that gets shafted during busy times. At least at this credit union, on this particular afternoon. I wait behind the car in front of me for about 8 minutes. Meanwhile the car who had been behind me when I turned into the credit union, but had chosen a different lane, is getting his receipt and pulling out of the parking lot. Finally, the car in front of me cranks up and leaves. I try to encourage myself by thinking, "Well, he probably took a long time because he was trying to do a difficult transaction that he should have gone inside for." I roll down my window and quickly put the check and deposit slip in the thingy and shoot it off through the tube. A voice crackles, "Hi, how are you?" I try to sound chipper and in a hurry, "I'm fine. How are you?" And then I sit. And change CD's. And surf radio stations. I watch the people taking turns at the ATM. I watch car after car in lanes 1 & 2 complete their business. I lean forward to try to peek through the credit union window to see if anyone is looking back at me. Maybe I could remind them I'm sitting here using all my gas up. I hope the car behind me doesn't think I am trying to do a difficult transaction that I should have gone inside for. I contemplate how much weight the thingy could hold and still whoosh through the tube into the credit union. I check to see if my fingernails are clean. I start feeling irritable and impatient. And then I remember one of the fruits of the Spirit is patience. And I start to calm down. And think about how busy the credit union ladies are. And how they are probably swamped with transactions. And if someone is going to have to be kept waiting, it might as well be someone who has the Spirit working patience in her life. Because then I can pray for the credit union ladies and not make nasty comments and hope that the day slows down for them. And in view of eternity, 10 extra minutes sitting in the credit union drive-thru isn't a whole lot of time.