A different perspective

He was annoying. The Uber driver was clearly not from around here and didn’t speak English very well. It was late, we were frustrated. We were having a lot of struggles getting him to understand what we needed and we were all tired. But I kept reminding myself that the driver was a person. He had feelings. He was just trying to do his job. Finally, we got the complications settled out and my dad started asking him a little about himself. He was from the middle east and had recently moved to California to pursue a degree in English. Being an Uber driver allowed for a flexible schedule so that he could study and pick his young boy up from school in the evenings. He and his wife had two very young kids and both worked. We were surprised. He wasn’t trying to be difficult. He was simply trying to support his young family. Once we realized this, we began to view him differently. Right after we had entered the car, we had judged him too quickly based off of what we thought we saw and what we needed. Immediately seeing how he didn’t meet those needs. But before we exited, I knew that I had been wrong to judge so quickly.  I gained a whole new perspective about this person. Once I understood his story I figured out that he was working really hard to pursue a good life, and he was struggling much more than us. It isn’t until you walk in someone else’s shoes, try to understand their story, and get to know them, that you can truly communicate and connect. 

Have you been in the car when whoever is driving speeds and swerves out in front of someone cause your running late to something important? I bet it’s happened to all of us. But we have also all been the one that’s watching a car pull out in front of us and speed away. Have you have wondered what they are running late too? Have you ever looked out the window at people passing by, and wondered what their story is? We all have struggles and adventures in life and it’s worth it to get to know a total stranger’s background. But you really can’t do that if you view them as nothing more than “the Uber driver” or “the checkout person” or any other label that put on people.  There should be times in your week, where you just stop and talk to someone you don’t know and might never see again. It will open your eyes to the little miracles that God works every day. Like how this young Uber driver was able to come to the U.S. in the first place because of his previous work with the military. So pause, and take a look around at the people you don’t know, and start finding out what going on in their life. It will be worth it and you'll gain a new perspective.