Over the weekend I attended the Owensboro Air Show, on the banks of the Ohio River, with my family. I grew up a few blocks from the river so we would walk to any events that were held there. On Saturday, however, my niece drove my mom home. My mom used a rolling walker to get to the air show and I volunteered to push it home for her. Well, I loaded my chair in a bag and two umbrellas across the seat of the walker and began the journey home with my sisters.
When we got to 2nd Street, which is a fairly busy street, my sisters caught a break in the flow of traffic and darted across the street. I proceeded to follow them into the street when I noticed a semi-truck coming and calculated that I probably couldn’t make it that quickly with my extra equipment. I backed up to the sidewalk when, all of sudden, I noticed that the truck was coming to a stop with hazard lights blinking. (This is a one way street and the truck was in the right hand lane.) Then I saw him stick his arm out the window and wave it frantically to stop the traffic in the left lane. Finally, he motioned for me to cross the street. I have to say that was quite a humbling experience because I didn’t think I needed any help. In gratitude, I sheepishly crossed the street and gave a wave of thanks to this generous stranger.
This Sunday, we will read in Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but [also] everyone for those of others.” The truck driver brought these words to life for me.
Can you imagine the type of world we would have if each of us gave these words daily priority in our lives? In the midst of such division can we work for unity? May we invite the light of Christ into our hearts, a light that will shine for all to see.
