When the Systems Don’t Work

Post Office, Public School, Hospital, Law Enforcement, Health Insurance, Bank, Amazon, Cable, Retail Stores, Highway System, Grocery—these are but a few of the systems with which we interact on a regular basis and upon which we depend. In the past few days some of my friends and I have experienced a number of glitches in these systems that range from the humorous (an “information officer” for Public Schools who didn’t have the phone numbers for the various Public School buildings), to the inconvenient (a bank having no record of a deposit until presented with their own deposit receipt), to the dangerous (US Postal Service failure to deliver some critical medication in the guaranteed timely manner).

 It’s not that anyone expects perfection. It’s just that it seems to be getting to the point that when any of these systems actually work as they are a supposed to . . . we’re surprised. One of my greatest frustrations is the great amount of time I spend on the phone on ‘hold”, only to be disconnected or to discover that I have the wrong department. Imagine my delight when someone answers the phone and really has the answer or solution to my problem.

But one thing I can count upon is the community here at Christ Church. Oh, we have our problems, too. Sometimes the sound system doesn’t work the way we want it to or there’s a typo in the bulletin or someone doesn’t do something that we expected him or her to do. But in the end, this is a community of people who genuinely welcome and care for one another. I look forward to those times when we gather for worship and the community surrounds me and I know that at least for that short time the godly fellowship will work as promised, balm for my soul.

 –John Paddock