This morning, on my way to work, I found myself behind a car with a handwritten sign taped to the back window:
“Learning stick. Sorry for any delay.”
Reading that, I instantly softened. I stayed patient through the slow shifts and jerky starts — and honestly, they were doing pretty well for someone still learning.
But then a thought hit me:
Would I have been just as patient if I hadn’t seen that sign?
Probably not.
And that realization stayed with me.
Because the truth is, most people don’t have signs explaining what they’re going through. You don’t see:
“Going through a divorce.”
“Lost a child.”
“Feeling depressed.”
“Just diagnosed with cancer.”
If people wore their struggles where we could see them, we’d move through the world with so much more gentleness.
But the truth is — we shouldn’t need a sign to show kindness.
Everyone you meet is carrying something invisible, something heavy.
So today, and every day, let’s choose patience.
Let’s choose grace.
Let’s choose love — even when there’s no sign telling us to.
Credit Barclay Mullins ~