Two Soups!

Psalm 13 - How much longer?

I only had to say the following words, and Mum would start to giggle:

"I'm looking for me friend, Kimberley. 'Ave ye seen 'er?"

(Yes, I can still do the voice).

Any comedy fans will immediately picture the yellow beret and orange raincoat of one of Victoria Wood's most well-known characters. I often used to make Mum laugh with my impressions, but only after she passed away did we discover where I got it from. Mum used to entertain the other dinner ladies with her Victoria Wood impressions while they prepared the school dinners together. We had no idea she did this, and the irony is not lost on me that Mum was a dinner lady!

Our favourite Victoria Wood sketch, by far, was officially called "The Waitress" but is widely known as "Two Soups." Based on a real-life experience, this sketch relives the horrendous service Wood received when visiting a restaurant. In the sketch, the couple sits down to order, the swing doors open, and Julie Walters appears as an elderly waitress. At a snail's pace, she makes her way to the couple and, in a voice that I can hear as I type, says,

"Ready to order, Sir."

What follows is a painfully accurate demonstration of our frustration while waiting. The waitress even writes down the order for two soups as,

"one soup (long pause) and…another…soup"!

We squirm as we watch her slowly return to the kitchen and appear again through the swing doors. The two full bowls of soups deplete gradually as their contents spill throughout the journey back to the table.

After waiting all that time, the couple receives two empty bowls!

We laugh at this sketch because we've all been there. It's observational comedy at its finest.

I find it less amusing when I'm the one who's waiting!

I chuckle less when it's my time ticking by!

Just me?

My ability to wait has improved through bitter experience and the grace of God. In the past, my frustration would spill out, leaving me empty and, at times, bitter. Others would bear the brunt of my annoyance, and my micromanaging skills kicked into gear. In the waiting, there was a lack of resolution that I struggled to sit with, and I longed to skip to the part where everything was okay.

The psalms taught me that I wasn't alone.

1 How much longer, Lord,

will you forget about me?

Will it be forever?

How long will you hide?

2 How long must I be confused

and miserable all day?

Psalm 13:1-2a (CEV)

There is a place to take frustration when we are waiting.

David teaches us to give all the negativity that comes with waiting to God.

He teaches us to make a choice as we wait.

He teaches us to trust as we wait.

5 I trust your love,

and I feel like celebrating

because you rescued me.

6 You have been good to me, Lord,

and I will sing about you.

Psalm 13:5-6 (CEV)

As we hand our waiting woes over to God, we can do so with a heart of praise and maybe even celebration. We know that even in the waiting, there might still be something to smile about!

Kay Moorby