Jury Duty

So I've been called again to serve downtown for the Court of Commons Pleas.  This is my 3rd time being summoned.  It's not as bad as some would think, especially if your employer pays you when you're gone, which mine does.

I always have a bit of anxiety when coming into a new situation.  I think it's part of my control freak nature.  I hate being late.  I hate not knowing what's going on.  For jury duty it's the drive, what kind of case am I going to get, who are my fellow jurors going to be and so on.  Admittedly, I am working on this.  I'm learning to just relax, take my time, let others do their job.  I really don't know where I got this tendency from but I am trying to chill out.  

Anyway, you could imagine my surprise when waiting to check in on Monday morning I see a familiar face in a crowd of about 150.  In the midst of all these strangers, I see the smiling face of my Pastor.  Pastor Rick.  Wow!  What are the odds of that.  I immediately felt relieved and excited.  Relieved to see a friendly face and excited to get the possibility to hang out with "the Big Guy."  We sat together for the orientation video and about halfway in I felt a nudge from my beloved Pastor, who I have to turn in and tell on that he was emailing via his cellphone during the presentation.  Tsk, tsk.  Anyhow he's quick to point out, again via the net off his cellphone, that the gentleman seated in front of us is Dr. Michael Rozien of Oprah and "You, On a Diet." fame.  How exciting.  

We settle in on our respective laptops.  Me on the floor and Rick in a chair "juicing" up his Dell. Honestly, I'm so excited I'm quiet.  So excited I'm quiet!  When I get really excited I tend to talk and ramble and ramble and talk...So I figured the best thing to do was to be quiet.  Unfortunately, Rick was called and I was called shortly thereafter.  So our "bonding" time was cut short  It's day 2 of jury duty and I haven't seen my Pastor since then.  It makes me a little sad.  One of the perks of jury duty is the people you meet and hang out with.  Honestly, think about the randomness of all the registered voters in Cuyahoga County.  The demographics, the religions, the educated, the unemployed.  As I look over to my right there is a table of 6 women sharing a really inclusive conversation amongst themselves.  Between hushed snippets you can hear peals of laughter. 2 middle aged women both white, 2 a bit older white as well and 2 younger black women.  Under what other circumstances might these women have such camaraderie?  However, literally as I'm observing these women a verbal fight breaks out.  A young man just started screaming at an older woman.  "You don't even know me!"  He shouted.  Hmmmm...

Anyway as I'm feeling sorry for myself and my lack of bonding time with Rick, it dawns on me. Maybe God is using him to bond with someone else?  I hope so.  I mean that last time God used Rick in my life was when he prayed with me to accept Christ.  So if he can be used again in some way I guess I'm okay with that...I'm just feeling a little selfish...I should work on that :)