I have to rip on a city. I don’t want to call them out, but I can’t help myself right now. 

Richmond Hill, Ontario is just beyond the borders of Toronto, and is part of the GTA. The people that run that city have deep issues they need to seek help for. 

Here’s my story:  

The other day we left Kingston to spend the night at our daughter’s place in Richmond Hill. No big deal – thousands upon thousands of parents do this kind of thing all the time.

But it was 6 pm when we left home and we forgot to tell our daughter to get us a parking pass. 

No, our daughter doesn’t live in a parking lot or on a major street or even a busy street. She just lives on a residential street in a quiet part of the city. 

But you can’t park at night on a street ANYWHERE in Richmond Hill without a parking pass! 

It’s not the cost that bugs me so much; it’s the hassle of obtaining a pass.

It was later in the evening when we got to her place. Our daughter was out of printer ink so we had to drive to her work to order and print the parking pass from the city’s website. 

Where I live, if I need to park somewhere, I go on an app on my phone, and in a couple of clicks I’ve paid for my parking. It’s all done via the app – no printing required; nothing to put on the dash of your car.

It’s simple and quick. 

Not in Richmond Hill! They apparently don’t know about cell phones and apps. You have to print out a copy of the pass that you ordered on their website.

Not only that, but Richmond Hill has now added a complication to the process. Before, we could go on the website and type in the address of where we wanted to park. Now we’re required to have an account! 

You have to sign up and create a password – including a capital, a number and some other squiggle mark – just to park your car!

It’s not getting easier to park in Richmond Hill. And unfortunately, after doing all that, our payment was declined due to some website error … three times … on two different valid credit cards by two different people.

So there we were, at our daughter’s work, at almost 10 pm, with no way of obtaining a pass to park on her street. 

We had to go back to her house, get her car, and drive back to her work to leave our car there for the night. 

Is it possible for Richmond Hill to be a more uninviting city? I think not!

Maybe they don’t like the riffraff of family visiting their children.

Whatever their reason for making people’s visits so frustrating, it makes me want to grab a can of spray paint and graffiti something on their city hall.  

What am I thinking?! I’d probably have to get an account on their website to pay for a graffiti pass.

… You know, I feel a little better getting all that off my chest.

Here’s the thing: There are times when we get really frustrated with God. Maybe we are going through a difficult time, or God’s not answering our prayers. Often we bottle those feelings up and hold them against God. But instead, we should tell God how we feel. Let Him know your frustration. There are so many Psalms that start with the Psalmist wondering why God’s not helping, but by the end of the Psalm he has turned to praising God. Get it off your chest and see how God will change your feelings.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What’s been really bugging you lately? Leave your comments below.