We can learn a lot of things from semi trucks. Like how you need to start out earlier (I know, I know, Mom) on the road in case you get slowed down by one. Or how you need to look out for ones that make wide turns. Or that you need to leave plenty of following distance behind one. The other day, though, I learned something new while following a semi truck.

I was on my way home from school enjoying the open road, probably blasting some music. Soon, I found myself behind a semi. This isn't always an inconvenience. (Unless of course it's a Wednesday and following behind one makes me late to class and prevents me from taking a quiz. I guess I still haven't learned that lesson of starting out early in case a hindrance comes to you on the road. Semis, you got to love them.) However, on this particular day, it had been raining. And although the rain was no longer coming down, a vehicle as big as a semi finds all the moisture left on the pavement and sprays it continuously on the innocent vehicle following it. (Hence, another reason for learning a lesson in proper following distance, I suppose.) Anyways, I was the innocent victim this semi found and my windshield wipers were doing their job fairly constantly. Watching other vehicles, I realized that no one else had their windshield wipers on. It wasn't raining. There seemed no reason for drivers to have them on. How weird, I thought to myself, I must look to other drivers who pass me, or surely to the driver that's been following me this whole time. Why in the world does she have her wipers on?

I was a bit self-conscious. I'm sure I looked like an inexperienced driver who maybe couldn't figure out how to turn off her windshield wipers! Or some extra-cautious-to-a-fault worry wart. Nobody else had their wipers on, why did I have to?! No one else had their wipers on. But, no one else was following a semi. I was following a semi. I needed my wipers on. How easy it would be for other drivers to catch a first glimpse of my "unnecessary" wipers and blame me for incompetence. But if they would only see the semi I was following. If they would only see the water being dumped on my windshield. Or maybe something even more powerful, if they would only experience it for themselves.

All of this talk seems superficial and dumb, I know, but it got me thinking about how easy it is to write off others' actions and beliefs when we have no idea the situation they're in or the storms they're coming from. We may not always see that semi in front of people. "Oh, they're so dumb. How could they do something like that?" or "I am so offended. How could they say something like that?" We make split-second judgments and are blind to the deeper reasons behind their actions. Sometimes people cannot help the things they do. It may be the home they were raised in, the people they knew growing up, that were bad influences on them. It may be as simple as someone having a bad day. People go through so much on a day-to-day basis. I think if we saw past the surface, our hearts would just break at some of the things people are going through or are coming out of. Just as I was the only one with wipers on, there are people out there going through things that are specific to them, specific to the situation they're in, specific to the place God has them in. We cannot judge their hurtful words, their irresponsible decisions, their attitudes until we have experienced for ourselves the spray from the semi in front of them - their backstories and trials. We may very well find ourselves behind our own kind of semi around the bend and would hope that others would give us grace as well.

Following behind the semi, I couldn't help but long for the turn that would send the semi on a separate path from me. I couldn't wait to be able to speed up a bit, turn the wipers off. I was anxious to rid myself of the inconvenience following that semi was. In life, I would say the same is true. When we are caught in a hard situation, where we feel like the only ones going through pain, the only ones doing the things we need to do to cope, we just want to get out of there! We can't wait for the day that God will deliver us and put us back on the open road. Hope like this is good - it's a beautiful thing to know that God has more for us and will always provide for us. But, I think if we are so focused on getting out of the situation - the valley we're in - we're likely to miss the little lessons God has planted along the way. They may come in the form of annoying drops of water that we just want to get rid of as soon as possible, but there are traces of God to be seen. It's hard to say, "Bring on the semis!", but when we come at them with an open and vulnerable heart, there is much to be gained. Because of those down times, we may meet someone new to share with. After going through something difficult myself, I was amazed when I was able to connect with someone going through something similar. I drew on that painful memory to empathize with a friend. It's through the dark parts of our lives that we are able to see that God was with us every step of the way. The spray comes and comes and the back-and-forth motion of the wiper blades leaves us feeling judged and lonely, but it doesn't last forever. And with each trial we overcome through Him, we see His faithfulness in action. We can trust Him with every fiber of our being... in any situation He will be who He is: a companion, a father, a healer, a friend.

So, let's smile at those with their wipers on. Let's do what we can to see through their perspectives. And when we're faced with a semi ourselves, let's embrace the time, turn the radio on, and watch intently how our amazing God will work.