Funny story…I was driving to the airport the other day and made a wrong turn onto the interstate. I was heading north when I needed to be going south. So, I decided to get off the next exit and turn around and correct my mistake. I took the exit and waited in the middle lane for the light to turn green. Now, my driving is not that bad. I consider myself a good driver and I have a great record driving up to this point in time. I haven’t caused any wrecks or caused any damage after 9 years of experience behind the wheel. I think that is pretty impressive. I like to think that if I took some driving test today that I would pass it with flying colors and would be considered by “the experts” a great (or good) driver. But today the experts were not on this exit with me and this was no test. The light turned green and as I turned left to get back on the exit, I nrealized that I needed to merge over to the left to get in the turn lane. I politely slowed down, turned my blinker on , looked over my shoulder and saw that the lane was clear to merge over. Now while this was going on a black truck was trying to do the opposite. He was trying to merge from the left lane over to my lane. Without a blinker, this truck started to merge over at the same time that I hit my brakes and my blinker. Each move would have been appropriate if done individually but because of the combination, we were left with a semi-close encounter on the exit. Now, I continued to complete my merge and noticed the other vehicle hit their brakes and complete their own merge. I was happy, not only, that the other person completed their goal of getting into the middle lane, but I was also happy to see that I was in the correct lane to get back on the interstate and continue my trip to the airport. Classic travel experiences. There are rules to the road but you always have to be aware and on your toes. Roads are safe but people are not. You must be able to adapt and improvise at any moment.
Well, I would like to say that the story ended with a polite hand wave and a thank you but as the driver passed my car, he decided he would take the opportunity given to him to inform me that I needed to learn how to drive. He seemed polite in recommending that I take a class, but I heard a small hint of sarcasm in his scream. How polite of this individual to point out my driving ability and the need to further develop my knowledge of this activity. I paused to reflect on his comment and started to second guess my own driving ability but I kept replaying the scenario in my mind. Did I do something drastically wrong that deserved such an outburst? As I replayed the encounter, I couldn’t come up with a reason to relearn or learn how to do the very activity that I was caught in the act of doing – driving. I then started to think about the driver and what encouraged him to yell at me and what he was feeling after his triumph. Was he really concerned for the other drivers around me and maybe even my own safety? Did he realize something that I didn’t? In that one short moment, did this guy uncover a need for more knowledge that I for 9 years hadn’t? Did he discover that I am unfit to be behind the wheel of a car? What was he feeling after the shout? Did he feel as though he did the world a favor? Did he run back to his office to tell his friends that he put someone in their place on the interstate? I just wonder…
Road encounters are funny and awkward. We always get caught looking at the people in the car next to us and we always end up frustrated by someone else’s driving or frustrate someone else with our own driving. I love to get those people behind me that are obviously in a hurry and to block them in. I love watching them go back and forth to different lanes trying to get past. But the funny thing is that I hate being behind someone slow when I am in a hurry. It is very interesting. I love frustrating the very people I hate to be. It is funny and entertaining but only when we are in control and not in the rush. We don’t mind everyone around us until they impact what we are trying to do. When someone makes us slow down or makes us hit the brakes, we quickly get annoyed and start to think ill of that person. I end up calling people grandma if they are going slow or an idiot if they hit the brakes or merge over on top of me. But then when I do the same to someone else on the road, I quickly throw up my hand to apologize or find entertainment in the move. I never consider myself a grandma or an idiot. Doesn’t seem to be right…
I found myself getting onto the interstate, thinking about how stupid and obnoxious that guy was for yelling at me, but then I remembered that even though I don’t yell out my window at people, I still consider the drivers around me idiots and throw up my hands in anger at times. So even though in that moment, he considered me an idiot while I considered him the same, we will only end up switching places in time – both thinking the other the fool and the other the idiot. Are we both idiots and are we both wrong? probably not. The encounter occurred because 2 people tried to make similar moves at the same time on an intersection that was not very accommodating but not because one needs to learn how to drive and the other is just an obnoxious idiot.
I am not a bad driver and I don’t need to learn how to drive and the other individual is probably a great guy and a great father but in one interaction we both become the idiot and the moron! Why judge and develop your perception of someone on one experience or one brief interaction or from one angle? Don’t judge or become angry too quickly…
My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, for man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life that God desires. James 1: 19,20
I think that says it all actually. I should have started with this verse and just ended the post within the first paragraph.
