I am not usually forthcoming in conversations with taxi drivers. When at work I am inclined to be preoccupied with thoughts of the day ahead. Often, in foreign countries, the language barrier precludes discussion.
My driver in Helsinki recently was different. It turned out that this man had given up his business because cancer forced him to change his life. He had been through the treatment offered and it was a success; now cancer free he told me his story.
Originally in a high pressure business life, a few years ago he ‘retired’ and spent his time providing a specialist taxi service for wheelchair users and other people who needed help. Cancer turned the tables and in need of help himself he thought his working life was over. Now he is free again; not young enough to load people needing assistance he carries a cargo that, like me, can load itself. He was a joy to meet – glad to be alive and to talk about how it felt to have emerged into normal life again.
That taxi driver made me think about the encounters we have in life. How the stories we tell are enriched by being interlaced with the stories of others. One tale, overlaid on another, reveals a picture of God at work in the lives around us. He said to me what I have said to others and many have confirmed, if COVID has taught us anything it is that when we cannot be with people we miss all those chance encounters. Zoom is marvellous but it does not join us with random strangers ready to enhance the day.
The bible is made up of stories of people. The Gospels contain teaching but they come to life through encounters. The early church is a catalogue of first meetings and the letters are full of intense communication.
The odds that I will see Tom again are slight but he taught me something about encounters that I will not forget.
A prayer
God of friend and stranger alike, we meet people in different situations. As we journey we learn and we thank you for that. Give us the grace to be open to listen and absorb those stories that make us richer and glad, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.