You know you are getting older when…
- You forget to take the things you wanted to take.
- You leave things around the house that you can’t find.
- You miss turns and streets on your way home.
- You forget what day it is.
- You change lanes and leave your blinker blinking, forever.
I have no experience with the above list, they just came to me while writing this blog. Sometimes I do some of them. Some more than others. Maybe one or two of them a lot. Maybe.
Yesterday
Driving back to the office from lunch, a car came alongside and the driver was waving to get my attention. It was odd, but he persisted. So, I rolled my window down and here is what he said,
“Your blinker is on.”
I guess he had been behind me for a while and was irritated that my signal was on but I wasn’t turning, ever. Some call that, “An Eventual Right.”
The driver was young, polite, and was smiling. Or was he laughing? I got the feeling that his telling me about the blinker was his way of serving society and making Houston a better place to live. He seemed pleased and proud. Uh Huh.
What I Said
I said to him, “Okay, thanks,” and rolled up the window. I was a little bit annoyed. His rather manic waving suggested I might have been dragging my bumper or something. But no, it was the blinker.
Now Jesus: Matthew 7:3
“’Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?”
Jesus spoke of our being judgmental about the minor weaknesses of others while ignoring the major failings in our lives. He would call it, “Hypocritical.”
Was his pointing out my forever blinker a speck or a plank in his eye? Or neither? Was my annoyance with him a speck or a plank in mine?
To Close
We can all be a little more tolerant, offering a little more grace to others. Yes, there are those who are annoying. But let’s practice the peace that passes all understanding, and not forgetting to check our mirrors for planks.
By the way, the young man was right, my blinker was on. I sheepishly turned it off.
Rick Fyffe 