To my dear friend who is always running late,
I love spending time with you. By now I have noticed that you are late nine times out of ten. A lot of the time you arrive, and you are in a good mood, and you apologize for your tardiness. Thank you for that, because I know you value our time together. Yet, I know you cannot always be cheery (especially when running late). I understand when you are not in a good mood because we all have those days, and being late does not make them any better.
Throughout high school, we would never expect to see you before classes began because you hardly made it before the first bell each day. In college, you got better at being punctual. Perhaps, the fact that we pay for classes made a difference. But, by now, we expect you to be late. I hope that relieves some of the pressure you put on yourself, because I know you want to be punctual, but life happens. We have observed that you are late because you want to do life well and to the fullest!
You are present with the people you are with. You get busy doing things that you love: teaching and spending time with others, working, exercising, sleeping, spending time with Jesus, celebrating, reading, singing, laughing, and many other things. In this crazy world we live in, those things are important to keep your sanity.
You don't want to arrive late, but it just happens as if the world is working against you. You have gotten locked out of your apartment, you have caught all of the red lights, and you have seen your phone work against you as if it and the devil were plotting your habitual tardiness. It's at those moments when you see how complex life can be, and you wish to simplify everything by ridding yourself of all technology and schedules.
Then, in the little bit of time you have between all of your duties, you see the daily news, and you become even more tired of our crazy society. How are we supposed to do anything or go anywhere in a cruel and broken world? But you handle it as gracefully as you can by choosing to give the burden to God and pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5).
I say all this to tell you: thank you. Thank you for the reminder that sometimes we need to slow down. Hurrying causes more stress than anything else. Thank you for reminding me that in other cultures, everyone shows up late, but they are all on time. Is that not a strange, beautiful thing? Do we always need to be in a rush? Of course we should be on time for work and other professional occasions in life, but within friendships we can show grace.
Thank you for changing my pace and giving me a new lens to look through. May God help you to be on time when you need to and want to. May God continue to coordinate your schedule so you can get the rest you need and arrive safely and peacefully to each place you need to be.
With grace, love, and peace,
Your understanding friend
p.s. I am that friend. Sorry for making you wait, but I thank you so much for giving me grace, and laughing with me about my constantly-late struggle bus.
