Hurry Up and Wait...

You have all heard it...Hurry Up and Wait!

Prepare quickly for an activity that has been delayed...hurry up and wait. Those who have ever been involved in the military knows what this phrase means, or if you have had a medical visit, or experienced air travel (arrive two hours early for your scheduled flight time, only to depart two hours late), or made a visit to your local DMV.


When I arrived unaccompianed (meaning without my active duty sponsor) to Virginia and renewed my DOD stickers (they were due to expire before the end of the deployment), I was told that my husband's (as active duty member) legal state of residence is Tennessee, but my legal state of residence is where we are stationed...in this case, Virginia. I had 30 days to transfer my TN license to a VA driver's license.

Now the irony in all this is that my TN driver's license expired March 2006. I paid the renewal fees to have it renewed, so it is good until my birthday 2011.

I checked online at the VA DMV website to make sure I had all the necessary documents to apply for a VA driver's license (2 forms of ID, valid driver's license, legal presence, i.e., certified copy of my birth certificate, social security card, verification of residence, i.e., copy of my most recent utility bill). I gathered the necessary documents together, put them into a nice manila folder and drove to the nearest DMV office....estimated wait time posted on the internet website... 21 minutes.

Arrived at the VA DMV (Hilltop office located on Donna Drive) and checked in....customer number C247...time stamp 11:06 AM. I took a seat among the masses, and waited for my number to be called. I filled out the Driver's License application form, and began to wait....and wait...and wait...

It was frustrating. Numbers were called with different prefixes (A, B, C, D, E, F, or G...depending on the service you needed). I felt as if I was waiting for the winning raffle ticket number to be drawn.

The gentleman sitting next to me, was customer B117, time stamp 11:13 AM. His number was called and completed his transaction in under an hour (he was renewing his sister's vehicle registration). He walked out of the DMV at 12:12 PM. He wished me good luck as he exited. I needed more than luck. I needed the patience of Job. Oh, the virtue of patience.

12:36 PM (that is the longest "21 minutes" of my life) my number was called to teller #3. I handed her the requested documents, passed the vision screening and paid my $20 for the new license. She took my application, both my PHOTO TN driver's license (expired Mar 2006), my valid, TN NON-PHOTO driver's license (exp Mar 2011), and told me to go to the end of the line and...you guessed it....wait...for my name to be called.

I walked down to the end of the line and found another seat. Time: 12:46 PM. My name was called shortly thereafter, and my social security card was returned to me. The clerk said, "Have a seat and smile". Within a matter of seconds my photo was taken. Again I was asked to wait. Within a few minutes, I received my new VA driver's license and walked out of the DMV and got into my car....time 1:06 PM.

DMV 21 minute wait time is equivilent to 2 hours.

This experience made me stop and think (one can do a lot of thinking in 2 hours time). Sometimes I need to slow down in my schedule and take time to encounter God. I need to take time to experience His power and His love for me in the present moment.

No matter where we are on life's journey, or what circumstances we encounter, God knows us completely and His timing is perfect. So, I encourage you, "Hurry up and wait"...on God!