I recently got into an Uber car for a ride to the airport. I like talking with drivers if I sense they are open to it. On this particular day, the driver was very talkative and told me about how he was an inventor. He had several patents and was about to sell one of his inventions for a ton of money. We had a wonderful conversation, and he was such a warm and interesting person. I asked him why, with his good fortune with inventions and all the work he was doing aside from Uber, he was still driving. He smiled and said, “There are still some people I haven’t met yet. I never know who is going to get into my car next.”

What an amazing answer! Too often we live our lives in semi-solitude, walking around with blinders on so we don’t make eye contact. We have our family and friends, but we don’t get up each day wondering with excitement who we will meet that day.

God puts people into our path all the time. Maybe we need them or they need us. But we do not walk through this world alone. If we choose to not be mindful of who is in our midst, we miss the chance to receive whatever gifts they may have to give. In the same vein, they miss out on what we have to share with them if we stay closed and quiet. Pay attention to those around you. God may come to you in the words of a friend, the request of a homeless man, or in the wisdom of an Uber driver.

-Tracy Earl Welliver, MTS