Hurry up and wait! Hurry up and wait! Anyone who has spent time in the military has heard this and lived this as a part of their daily routine. Rapid flurries of activity are followed by long periods of waiting in line. Waiting seems to be part of life in every context. We wait in lines at grocery stores, department stores, banks, athletic events, concerts, motor vehicle offices, and government agencies. It seems like time passes with the speed of light on our way there and at the pace of a slug after we finally arrive. Much of our daily lives seems to be spent waiting — for traffic jams to clear, mail to arrive, workweeks to end, sermons to conclude, the weather to change.

So, what do you do while you are waiting? Some folks fuss and fume, staring at their watches impatiently. Some bring…