Monday, February 06, 2017

Please Don't Complain About Someone Else's Wreck


When we were in London and had a meeting at 10:00 AM, we left very early to make sure we got there on time. We spent way too long waiting for a bus, then way too long sitting in traffic on the bus, then way too long at a bus stop where all of the drivers of other buses were just standing around chatting. It became apparent that we were going to be late and we thought we had done something wrong. I asked the driver what should we do, and knowing that I wasn't local he was very kind to us and gave us new direction. It turned out that a lorry (big truck) had hit and killed a bicyclist and half the city was being rerouted because of the investigation. (Apparently, there had been some controversy involving bicycles and vehicles.) 

I don't know why I was so shaken up by it, but I was. We met a very kind lady who actually walked us to the correct path to get to our appointment, for which we were three hours late. When we got there our host asked me how I was and mentioned how terrible the whole experience must have been for me. Up until that point, it had been... for me. But I realized at that moment, that incident wasn't about me. A person had lost her life, it was over! Every person who knew her would be changed in some way forever. The truck driver's life would never be the same either. It didn't matter that I was shaken up, what mattered was a life was gone. The host was being very kind to me and with us being in another country, I was grateful for that!


(The bus pictures above were taken before we knew what was happening. Who wouldn't want to have their picture taken on the top level of a double-decker bus with some London trash in the background? The other picture is at Spurgeon college, which is where we were headed that day.)



I was reminded of this incident recently when someone posted a picture of a major wreck on Facebook. The words with it were -"This mess caused me to be 1 1/2 hrs late to work today."  I'm sure the person's intent wasn't malicious but it struck me wrong. Sure, it caused her to be late, but the people involved were very clearly terribly impacted, someone never made it anywhere else.  

People in accidents of any kind don't need our complaints about how they have inconvenienced our lives. We need to be praying for them. Our first thoughts ought not be about our inconvenience, but how can we help others. No, don't stop if there's emergency workers there who can help. But please, don't complain about how you were inconvenienced. 


My car wreck over eighteen months ago is just about to be resolved. Those things take a huge toll on the people involved - to heal from injury, deal with insurance, get vehicles repaired. I know I would have felt worse if there had been people posting pictures and complaining that I had made them late for work.


We have to change our mindset on every issue of life. What is happening around us isn't about just us!

No comments: