It was a nightmare. I dreamed I was standing in line, waiting to be served. But I was in the wrong line. The person behind the counter proceeded to berate me for standing in the wrong place and insulted my intelligence. It happened because I misunderstood the instructions and made a mistake.

Then my dream took me to another scene. The person I was with said something to me as they walked away. Their back was to me so I couldn’t hear clearly. I stood in that spot for a long time waiting for them to return. But they never did. As they walked away, they were telling me where to meet them later. But I couldn’t hear, so I missed them.

And then in the next scene my cell phone rang. I missed the call because I didn’t know how to answer it. I knew I should be able to return the call but again I couldn’t figure out how to make the phone work. I could not understand the phone and I was so frustrated.

It was just a dream. But in this dream, I was reminded of the many times I had been impatient with other people. The truth is kindness is a virtue that is in short supply.

We should all practice compassion. We don’t know what other people are going through. Consider the waitress who failed to fill your tea glass as quickly as you wanted. Perhaps her mind was on a sick child she had at home. Or the old man whose slow driving holds you up may not want to be on the road, but he has no one to take him to the grocery store.

Listen, everyone’s life tells a story. Many of these stories are tragedies. We all need to learn to be understanding. We are all better off than someone else and where they are today, we may be tomorrow. Learn to be kindhearted because time is not wasted if it is spent being kind. Learn to show compassion because God has been merciful to you.

Douglas & Deborah Huff

From Down Where The Pavement Ends

Email-pavementendsministry@gmail.com