Good morning everyone,
I rode Bus 21 into Waterloo on Monday. I was the only person on the bus, when it picked me up at the corner of Snyder and Ernst here in Elmira. It was almost full by the time we arrived at Conestoga Mall about a half an hour later. There was one Old Order Mennonite lady who got on the bus, near St. Jacobs. There was also a few David Martin Mennonites who got on the bus at Walmart. There were no people of colour on the bus, when we all got off at the Mall.
I got on the iExpress 200, to go to downtown Kitchener. There is so much construction in both cities that we had to go around the regular routes. From the time I got on to when I got off at the corner of Weber and Victoria, it was a United Nations of the world. There were two Muslim women in Hajibs, one , I think, from Sudan or Somalia, and the other from somewhere in the Middle East. There were at least three Spanish speakers from, probably, Latin America. There was a boy and girl who got on near downtown Waterloo. The boy was from Africa and the girl from the Caribbean. Were they going out or were they just friends. Maybe they were both studying Engineering or Sociology and were sharing ideas.
I wonder what all these people thought of me. I do not know if anything that I observed is true or not. I did not talk to anyone, but just made these observations of the people who got off and on the bus. I was the only person with gray hair. Maybe they thought I was retired or poor. People who cannot afford a car ride the bus. I was the only person who was reading a book. Three Indian (South Asian) friends got on and were talking with each other. After about 20 seconds they all began to look at their phones. Most of the people were young adults (whatever that means), and most of them were looking at their phones. A generation ago people would have been reading either a newspaper or a book.
What do we observe as we live our lives? Do we make judgments on people or situations with limited information? It seems to me that we were a community while on that bus. It will never be the same group of people on the iExpress 200.
Why did God put me on that bus, and what am I supposed to learn about myself, about people, about community and about judgment?
Till I ride the bus again.
Shalom and strength for the journey of life and faith.
Fred