Lesson on Judging

Dad and I learned a great lesson on judging that first day on our trip. Steve (Steph's dad) started driving the truck before we got into the mountains of CO. We were behind them and started noticing that the truck was going slowly during most of the drive. It seemed really odd to us. We thought Steve seemed like the type to just cruise through.

As the truck started getting slower and slower, we started getting irritated. We were already behind schedule and wanted to hurry. We could understand taking the curves slower, but on flat stretches, they would sometimes be going as slow as 30 MPH in a 50-60 MPH zone. We started getting quite frustrated.

When we hit the fog and the little rain, the truck sped up a little. We started thinking that maybe Steve and Jesse were going slow through the passes to see the beautiful mountains and when the weather turned ugly, they sped up.

We got to Denver and the interstate around the city. Steve and Jesse were cruising ahead of all of us. They completely lost us for awhile. That seemed to confirm our theory that they were just sight-seeing through the mountains.

We did catch up though, because they were only going about 30-40 MPH again. On the interstate. In a 65 MPH zone. We thought that was completely insane! They sped through the city where there was more of a chance to get caught, then slowed down outside the city limits. We were floored. We griped that he was totally nuts in the way he was choosing to speed or not to speed. We were pretty angry at this point. It was getting late and he was being very poky.

We all stopped at a rest stop soon after. It was while we were there that we learned, again, why it is not good to judge.

Steve told everyone that the truck was having problems. He was practically standing on the gas pedal while going through the canyons. He said the transmission would heat up and he couldn't get any speed at all. He was able to speed up when the transmission cooled down, which is why through the fog and the flat interstate area, he was cruising better.

Dad and I were put in our place. We were so sorry to think those mean things of Steve. It was not right to do at all. It was another experience that just shows us that there is a reason Heavenly Father is the only judge. We don't know the whole story. There is no way for us to be just and fair when we don't have all the facts.

I am grateful for this reminder. I pray that I will remember this when I start to think badly of someone.