parking

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I’m So Frustrated With This City!

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.

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Staying Warmer Longer Just Got Easier

I just got a little helper to stay warm longer in the winter.

Staying warm in Canada in the winter – especially this winter – is something that’s on your mind the minute you start getting dressed for the day.

For Lily, it always matters what the temperature is outside; she wants to know what the weather is like no matter what.

There are times I’ve responded, “What does it matter what the temperature is outside? You are getting into a car in a garage and I’m dropping you off at the door of our destination.”

How cold it is shouldn’t matter in those situations, but somehow it does. I’m not going to try to figure that one out.

But for me, sometimes I have to shovel twice, once at home and once at work, before I begin my work day. You have to think about the amount of time you’re going to be spending outside.

But last night I got a little app for my phone that helps take some of the chill out of the cold temperatures we are facing.

It’s a parking app.

Yes, I know they’ve been out there for some time now, but I just discovered their usefulness … and that’s all that really matters to me.

I got hooked on it by accident, too.

In the last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed signs in parking lots around town, giving instructions on how to pay for parking through an app.

Well, last night it was one of those damp, chilly evenings where the cold pierces through to your bones, and the wind sucks the life out of you like one of those food sealer gadgets.

I knew I didn’t have change for the parking station, and all Lily had was bills. She handed me a $5 bill and, though I knew the station also accepted credit, I took it anyway.

As I got out of the car and turned around, I saw one of those signs for paying with an app.

I didn’t care that we were a little late for the hockey game. I was cold and couldn’t get my head around standing at a pay station, trying to get my credit card out without taking off my gloves.

I noted the name of the app and the parking lot zone number and got back into the car. I downloaded the app and paid for my parking all in the comfort of our warm car.

Now if they could come up with a transporter feature on the app that would make it perfect! Unfortunately, we still needed to get out of the car and walk a couple of blocks to the arena.

By the way, the app also warns you when you are coming to the end of your paid time. If you need more time, you can buy it right from your phone – no need to go outside and brave the weather just to add another half hour of parking time.

This is definitely my new favourite app right now.

Here’s the thing: In our day and age, we have greater access to God’s Word than ever before. Not only is the printed version so easily obtained, there are free Bible apps for you phone or tablet, giving you access to the scriptures any place and any time. It is so easy to read the Bible. But the one thing you still have to do is open it up and read it. Let’s use the conveniences we have to get God’s Word into our minds and hearts.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What keeps you from opening up the Bible and reading it? Leave your comments below.

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Parking Downtown Can Be An Adventure

If you drive a car at one time or other you are going to face some parking issues. The bottom line is that there are more cars in the world than parking spaces.

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I remember when they were building the hockey arena downtown in my city; the cry from the people was that there was no parking. Where will people park?

At my church, during the week, we allow two businesses to use our parking lot. On Sundays we use their parking lots because we don’t have enough room for all the cars.

On Friday I had a lunch meeting downtown. As I drove I thought, “It won’t be easy to find a spot.” I decided that I wouldn’t try to be greedy and look for a spot right outside the restaurant I was going to.

The first spot I found, however, fooled me. There were lines suggesting it was permissible to park there. I got out of my car, looked, and decided I needed to back up a little more to really be between the lines.

Since I was out of the car, I thought I’d pay the meter first, so I went over and threw in all the change I had, figuring that would be sufficient to cover my meeting.

When I came back to the car to put the parking pass in the window, I noticed a street sign right at the tail end of my car.

I thought maybe I should check out what that sign said. I was suddenly a little disappointed with the city! On the road they had markings for a parking spot but on the sign above they took the spot away with a no parking sign from that point on.

Now I had a parking pass but no spot to park in. I got in my car and looked around trying to figure out what I was going to do.

I looked back behind me and on the other side of the road there was a parking space. I checked the traffic and, when it looked clear, I swung out of my spot and did a three point turn (perfectly, I might add) in the middle of a busy downtown street and raced for the vacant parking spot.

I pulled in and, since I already had my parking pass, I was pretty pleased with myself.

I got to my meeting and it was not only delayed, it went longer than I had anticipated. When I got out I hurried to my car, fully expecting to see a parking ticket on my windshield.

There was no ticket – I beat the system! In fact, I was two for two that week … which I think is a much better percentage than my son has.

… I get his parking tickets addressed to me on a regular basis because the car is in my name … I’m not sure his Star Trek cloaking device is working all that well.

Here’s the thing: I’ll take a chance on finding a parking spot and, at times, even take the chance I’ll get back to my car before the ticket officer arrives. But I’m not going to take a chance at getting into heaven. I want to be sure I have the right ticket. That ticket is my faith firmly placed in Jesus Christ as my saviour and my Lord. Oh, and there’s no trouble finding a parking space there.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What kind of chance are you taking with God right now? Leave your comments below.