What Am I Portraying?

The mode of transportation in Peru was a new experience for me. It is mainly taxis and buses. I have ridden in both, but not quite like I did in Peru. I rode in taxis in New York City where yellow taxis line every street. Their fees are determined by a meter. It is a set fee, plus mileage and time all monitored by the meter. In Peru the taxi system is negotiated, one ride at a time. Since I couldn’t even say ‘buenas dias’, we left the negotiating to Brittne who took on the assignment with great passion. She was determined not to let a taxi driver rip us off; not even one Sole' (which equals 32 cents). Many times five of us would load into a small subcompact car almost the size of a Subaru outback station wagon. Dwayne would sit in the front; Bryce and I would sit in the back in the middle. Brittne would sit on the corner of the seat by me and Kristen would crawl on top of Bryce’s lap, keeping her head ducked because it would hit the ceiling. Sometimes we would splurge an extra 5 sole’s and get a second taxi! During our six day adventure, we ended up riding in 34 taxi’s and 2 buses. It was very frustrating to me not to be able to talk to the drivers and find out about their lives and be of some kind of encouragement to them. I even felt rude by not talking to them. However, each driver did tell me one thing about them self. They would have some kind of object by their mirror or on their dash showing where they put their faith, and trust me, if I drove like they did, I would be putting my faith in something other than me too. The problem was that the vast majority was trusting in something that couldn’t help them. Three taxi drivers had a little shoe on their dash boards. They were shoes of their children to bring them good luck. Twenty-nine drivers had a picture of a Saint or a rosary as a symbol of protection. One driver had nothing. It was very sad to see so many putting their trust in luck and mere humans, or nothing at all. However, three drivers had Bibles. These three were believers in Jesus Christ and was putting their trust in His Word. Besides their Bibles, they would have Christian music on the radio like Hillsong singing in Spanish. It was great! Just think of how many people would get in the Taxi each day and hear songs of praise to the One True God.

It made me wonder about the people that cross my path every day. The ones I don’t speak too but who watch me as I go about my activity. What do I show them about who I am putting my trust in? Do they see me rejoicing in the Lord? Or do they see me stressing over life? Do they see me upset with another person? Or do they see me as a person of love, compassion, and joy? When someone crosses my path, I want to portray the One I claim to serve! As I look back over my encounter with my 36 drivers, I wish I would have learned to say, “God Bless You” in Spanish. Each time I got out of the cab or walked off the bus, instead of butchering ‘buenas dias’, I should have said ‘dios te bendiga’. I let 36 opportunities go by to show who I trust in. I pray I become more aware of what I am portraying to those who travel with me through my daily journey through life.

You are the light of the world....Let your light so shine before men that they may see your moral excellence and your praiseworthy, noble, and good deeds and recognize and honor and praise and glorify your Father Who is in heaven.

Matthew 5 : 14a, 16 (Amplified)

(also, I had to include the Message because I love the wording!)

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept....Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand--shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.

Matthew 5:14a, 16