frustrating day!

I had a long list of things to get accomplished today. Little did I know that on the day when you pay your electric bill, you should not plan much else! I walked about 15 minutes to the electric company. I took a number which was 77. They were on 23. The place was absolutely packed with people. There was a woman screaming behind a glass partition and I could hardly understand a word she was saying. I asked the man next to me what was happening. He said they had cut her electricity because she hadn't paid for 3 months. She was yelling so loud in that tiny room, I couldn't believe they put up with it. I'm not kidding, it went on for 30 minutes! She would calm down a bit and then start screaming again. I have no idea what the final outcome was but out walked this tiny little covered woman, still mumbling to herself as she went out the door. The man next to me kept saying things like "this is what democracy does" and "these people don't deserve democracy; they're animals". If nothing else, the 1 1/2 hours that I spent there was a great cultural lesson. I don't know if it was different before, but everyone is on nerve's edge these days. No one obeys the laws of the land. A taxi driver told me "we have to accept everything right now & keep our mouths shut" because there is no government & no law enforcement. If you get out and yell at someone in traffic, he may just shoot you with a gun. We've lived in that kind of situation before in Lebanon during the war years. After finally getting my bill paid, it was already 11AM and things would start closing down before long for lunch so I hurried to the municipality where I needed to get 10 copies of a "Power of Attorney" signed & stamped. I first of all walked a long ways to the wrong municipality and was redirected to another one, at least a 30-minute walk away. I couldn't find my passport anywhere but I had a copy and figured that would suffice. WRONG!! I waited (more like shoved & pushed)for one hour in a line that was 4 deep and culminated at one single window with a very grouchy lady. When I finally got up there, her first words were "where's your passport"? I said I'd brought a copy of it and she threw my papers back at me and told me to bring my passport next time. At that point, I had been walking or standing on my feet for 3 1/2 hours and I was beat. I thought I'd take a taxi home but they were all full (since it was lunchtime), so I walked. I was trying to think of things to be thankful for as I was near tears of exhaustion. I thought of quite a few actually & was home in no time at all, relaxing in my beautiful, comfortable home. One thing is for sure and that is that "all things work together for good to those who love God" and that's ME. I will go back tomorrow with my passport and try again. At least now I know the system.