God's Waiting Room

The other day a friend said to me, "We are living in God's waiting room." I was surprised to hear that phrase again. I heard it often when I lived in the mobile home park in the States. The ambulance would go in there at least once a week to take someone away. But I had hadn't heard it describe the Lakeside area.

The expat population of this area is similar to that mobile home park. Most of the expats here are retired and I am guessing the average age is in the mid seventies. There are many expats in their eighties and a few in their early fifties (early retirement.)  Slowly, younger working people are moving in here . Now with the internet, they can work from Mexico. I have also seen younger people with children living here but this is unusual.

Because of the make up of the expat population, there generally is a relaxed atmosphere. (Discounting the traffic situation. That is another story.)  Few people are working or have stress in their lives. Their living expenses are covered with their retirement money. If they are healthy, they have nothing to do except enjoy their lives. There are clubs for everything here. There are 96 restaurants in the local phone book. I am always seeing new ones opening up. There are art openings and music performances. Have you always wanted to learn how to paint? Take a class. Or take Spanish classes. Or knitting. Or cooking. The list goes on and on. God's waiting room is filled with interesting things to do.

My two favorite things to do are reading and swimming. I spend a lot of time at the LCS library and the hot springs in San Juan Cosala. I just finished reading a book about Freud's life.  Of course, whenever I read about famous people I end up feeling like a failure. What have I done in my life to make the world a better place? Thoughts like that pop up in God's waiting room. I think it is too late to try to leave a lasting mark. Even famous people are quickly forgotten. Maybe the only thing that matters is that I will be remembered by my family and a few friends--hopefully!   And, hopefully, those memories will be good ones.   So for now, I am just going to enjoy the remaining days allotted to me.