I had to go to the bank on my way to work today. That's always traumatic. Not so much because of our financial situation... The bank is traumatic because it's in the Frightening Food store ( Shoppers) and you never have any idea how long it might take you to get something done. You could be in and out or you could be behind some desperate guys who came up to work in the orchards and are now trying to explain, in Spanglish, that they want to cash their checks to the woman behind the counter who is from Germany originally. I have the most awful urge at those times to slap the watch I wear on the lapel of my coat, and yell " Lt. Uhura! You're needed at the bank!"

Thankfully, I have never done this.

Today, when I went up, I stood at the little desk getting my paperwork together, while a middle aged lady talked enthusiastically....

to the young teller on duty about the church they belong to, their prayer group, etc. A really old guy staggered up to the other teller - the one who is from Germany - and began to wave a piece of paper around. Apparently his account was overdrawn, and, well, there just wasn't any communication going on on that side of the bank. He maybe should have switched to Spanglish.

Meanwhile, there I was, waiting.....and waiting.....and waiting. For Goodness sake, how do you think God feels about you wasting my time here? I thought crossly. Then somebody came up behind me. And we were both waiting....and waiting....and waiting. I cleared my throat. Loudly. It's one of the only benefits of having asthma. I can clear my throat so loudly you could hear it in the meat department if I wanted to. No luck.

By now, I was actually trying to put together a more gentle phrase, indicating that this teller ought to get a move on because a lady with a little kid came up and joined the queue. Something like, I can understand your enthusiasm, but would you mind wrapping up? I really don't want to be late for work. All the while doing a very poor job of keeping down judgemental feelings: See, this is the kind of behaviour that makes people think Christians see themselves as better than everybody else. Where's your humility? But I was still quiet.

All at once the lady who was speaking turned and saw me. I guess I looked pretty cross. "Oh, forgive me! I'm sorry!" she said, sort of reflexively.

"It's a'right" I muttered, with a little less grace than I should have, and approached the teller. The teller is really young. She's like a teenager.

I handed over my paperwork, and I felt a touch on my arm. It was the prayer group lady. She looked me right in the eye, "Really, I am truly sorry. It was rude of me to be disrespectful of your time. I really apologize."

"Well, thank you for saying so. It's no problem. Really. No problem."

I was so grateful that I hadn't opened my mouth! It just served as another reminder to me to "Judge not..."

Knowing when to shut up isn't listed as a gift of the Holy Spirit....but I'll file it under "understanding" and be thankful!