I was driving on a county road when I came up behind a regular-sized pickup truck hauling a flat trailer. It was moving slowly. I muttered impatiently, “Who’s driving this thing, anyway?” I tried to get a glimpse of the driver, and THERE WAS NO ONE THERE!
After a moment’s shock, I figured the driver must be someone very short. Perhaps an elderly farmer? Perhaps a young teen who shouldn’t be driving legally but who might be helping out in a pinch? I meditated on how many bad drivers there are on the roads these days as I craned my neck to get a glimpse. No one. There was no one at the steering wheel.
The road widened a bit, and I decided to pass. And that’s when I saw it: there was no one at the wheel because the truck wasn’t hauling a flat trailer – it was ON a flat trailer being hauled by a guy in a much larger pickup. From my car in the back, I couldn’t see the whole picture.
I thought I knew what was going on, but I didn’t. That has also been true in situations more important than slow-moving traffic on a county road. Maybe someday I’ll learn how much I don’t know. Until then, I remain dependent on forgiveness and grace.