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Waiting in line

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It is 250pm and I have decided to write.

I came across a writing prompt today that piqued my interest: What would you be willing to wait in a really long line for?

My first question is, how long are we talking? One hour? One day? One year? A lifetime?

The prompt seems paradoxical to me. The longer I am willing to wait, the more important the thing at the end of the line must be. But if it is truly that important, how could I live without it for so long? If I am willing to wait a lifetime, then perhaps I never really needed it at all.

Then there are the practical questions. What am I allowed to do while I wait? How do I pass the time? Eventually I will need to use the bathroom, take a shower, brush my teeth, eat, sleep, and continue living. I cannot simply press pause on life because I am standing in a line.

Maybe that is what bothers me most. Standing in a line feels like surrendering a part of my freedom. My path is fixed. My pace is determined by everyone in front of me. I can neither move ahead nor turn back without giving up my place. Surely there has to be a shortcut.

Or maybe there is not.

Perhaps life itself is one long line. We wait for opportunities, for love, for healing, for success, for answers. We spend our days inching forward without ever knowing exactly how much longer the wait will be and for sure what is at the end of the line.

Maybe what we need and what would be the "shortcut" is the line that ends all lines and all waiting. But that is assuming that waiting is a bad thing. Maybe waiting is not so bad after all. Makes us appreciate things more. I am sure you have heard that distance makes the heart grow fonder or the wait was worth it. Whether we are in a line or out of a line, let go and let God. Either fix it if we can or let go of what is out of our control.
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