This morning, after dropping off my youngest at his day-care provider, I was waiting to back out of her driveway into the street. I saw one more car coming, and then there was a large gap in the traffic that I was planning on hitting. However, as that particular vehicle was getting closer, they slowed down, and then I saw “the wave” letting me know I could pull out. I took the opportunity, returned “the wave” as a thank you, and went on about my business. (Interesting how one waving motion of the hand can mean so many different unspoken things. But that’s a blog for another day…)
I kept wondering if that lady knew that there was plenty of room behind her and that she didn’t really need to let me go. That’s when it occurred to me that it didn’t really matter whether or not there was space behind her. In her mind, the right thing to do was to let me go. If I was appreciative, then great. If my day was made better--awesome. If not, then it still didn’t hurt her to let me go. She decided to let me go, and she did.
Yes, I may be assuming too much about what went on in my fellow driver’s mind. BUT, since it doesn’t paint her in any negative light, I’m okay doing that. How else will I deliver the astounding truth that jumped out at me all the while this is happening?
You see, there are many times that all of us have great intentions. We decide to eat healthier. We intend to stop the late night snacks. We want to be more patient with our children. The plan is to read our Bibles more. We know that prayer works, and we hope to do it more. These are all good things. But, good intentions alone don’t get us where we need to be.
Sometimes God lays things on our hearts that He wants us to do, and we recognize these with no problem--as long as they are things we consider to be “big” things. Time to change jobs? We listen hard for God. Financial troubles? We are more willing to try new principles for our money. Children having trouble? We pray hard that God will take them away. Just kidding--at least about the taking them away part.
But what about the little things? What if we’re leaving the grocery store, and as we walk through the door, there’s an elderly person coming out behind us, but we’d have to wait an additional five seconds to hold the door? Sometimes God says to wait, but our selfishness tells us we need to hurry. How about while we’re out and about somewhere, and we see that the person walking towards us looks very unhappy? We often follow our natural inclination to keep our eyes forward and away from them, while we ignore that still small voice whispering that we should make eye contact and simply smile.
I have one place where I struggle so very often. It’s here in town, and it’s the place on Independence Blvd. (for those in the know) where the I-264 traffic is merging with the right lane heading towards Baxter road. I never know if I should slow down and let someone in and risk getting plowed in the back by an over-eager driver, or just keep moving and let the lights behind us provide the natural holes for cars to enter. The truth is, if I plan far enough in advance, I can start slowing down early enough to be safe AND to provide room for several cars to merge. I believe this is the right and courteous thing to do. Yes, it’s a little thing that may go completely unnoticed by the merging drivers, and could be a big inconvenience for three-and-a-half seconds for the cars behind me.
But here’s the deal: as silly as it sounds to some people, I have felt a bit convicted about making that plan every time and letting one or two people merge. Like I said before, you can tell a lot about the way a person drives, and I want people to be able to tell I’m a friendly driver. Friendly is one aspect of love, and if I want to truly follow God love my neighbor as myself (Leviticus 19:18, Matthew 22:39), then I need to be willing to extend to others the same courtesies that I would appreciate.
More than once in my life, my day has been lifted by someone smiling at me, holding a door for me, or simply slowing down to let me back my car safely onto the street. Just like little things can become big things in a negative way, they can have equal impact in a positive way. Many, many times it doesn’t even cost us anything but mere seconds, or slight muscle contraction in our cheeks to make a difference for someone else. But even if it did--would we be willing? (John 15:13. Check it out.)
What kind of “driver” are you? Even when you’re not in the car, what can people tell about you by the way you handle the little things in life?
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