While waiting at a traffic light...

You are waiting at a traffic light and you see a woman in a new Lexus stopped next to you on the street.

You might think to yourself, “Isn’t that great.  She seems to have her life together and is experiencing the pleasurable things of this world.  She is living the abundant life that God has for us all.”

Or, you might think to yourself, “Some people have all the luck.  She has such an easy life, everything she wants, while I have to struggle and suffer.  I could never afford anything life that.  She probably cheated or did something else ungodly to get that car.”

It's hard to be happy for others

It’s probably easier for most of us to think the second way rather than the first.  Unless things are going great for you, it’s hard to be happy for others when it seems like they have it ‘all together.’

No one in this world escapes struggles, trials and difficulties

Let me assure you that no one in this world escapes struggles, trials and difficulties.  No one!  That woman in the Lexus has difficulties in her life just like you and I have difficulties in our lives.  The only difference may be her attitude about all that she has gone through and her will to continue on and not give up; her decision to rise above negative situations, or let them take her down.

We only see each other's outside presentation

We only see each other’s outside presentation.  Our true inner worlds are unseen.  We see the wrapping that each person’s spirit is in and the small portion they want us to see.

We don't know all there is to know about someone

No matter how well we think we know someone, we still don’t know all there is to know about him or her.  Their inner struggles, fears, hurts, joys.  Even our spouses or our children – we think we know them, but we really don’t know everything that there is to know about them.

Only God sees each person's true inner heart

Only God sees each person’s true inner heart.  He sees all the events of a person’s life and how that person has handled them.  He sees the scars as well as the victories.  He judges each person according to the whole picture.  Something we will never be able to do.

We can only judge people by the partial picture that we see

We can only judge people by the partial picture that we see.  We see a woman driving a Lexus at one moment in her life and think “What did she do to deserve this?” “Why don’t I have this too?”

You can't see all of the ups and downs

What you can’t see is all of the ups and downs that she experienced in her life that got her to the moment you saw her.

You didn't see the women when...

You didn’t see the woman when she was a child; how she ached for the love of her father who struggled with alcoholism and didn’t spend enough time with her.  How she longed for the love of a father, of a man. 

You didn’t see the futile way that she tried to find that love.

You weren’t there when she was searching for that love in every man that she met, only to find loneliness at the end of the evening.

You didn’t see when she was strangled and raped by a complete stranger hiding in her apartment late one night, and the scars that it left.

You weren’t there when she got married too early in her life to the wrong man.  Or the divorce that followed. 

You weren't there when...

You weren’t there when she tried to balance her needs with the needs of her young child as a single parent, and the guilt that went along with it.  How she was torn between the love for her daughter and the need to find love for herself.

You didn’t see the years of drug abuse that hid the loneliness and insecurities in her life, and how it nearly cost her her life.

You weren’t there when her father committed suicide.  And the hurt she felt seeing her mother in so much pain – so distraught and all alone.

You weren’t there when she herself contemplated suicide.  When she was depressed about her drug problem, her sad mother, and her bad job – when everything in her life was at its lowest point.

You weren't there when...

You weren’t there when she turned to Jesus Christ in her darkest hour.  How He comforted her and gave her a new life.  You weren’t there when she accepted Him as her Savior and He lifted all of her burdens and set her free from drugs and alcohol and gave her a new vision and purpose for her life.

You weren’t there when she finally met the man of her dreams.  A man who truly loved her and gave her the love that she had been searching for all of her life.  The joy and completeness that he brought to her life.

You weren’t there to experience the miscarriage of the child she and her husband tried so hard to have together.

You weren’t there at the joyous occasion when her second child was finally born.

You weren’t there when she suffered her second, third, and fourth miscarriage, or how her heart broke when she learned that she would not be able to have another child.

You weren’t there when she was in so much financial trouble that she didn’t know how she would pay each month’s rent payment.  The stress that blinded her to everything else around her except the debt.

You didn't see her when...

You didn’t see her reading the Bible every day and absorbing God’s principles into her life and how she strived to change the way she thought and acted.

You weren’t there when she kept on following God’s principles no matter how the situation looked.  How she and her husband worked and worked.  How they sowed the seeds of prosperity by giving even though their needs were great.

You weren’t there when the seeds finally sprouted and the Lord blessed their hard work by increasing her husband’s salary to a level they could only imagine before.

You weren’t there during the years of special treatment that her husband’s job afforded them.  The special trips that she experienced because of the business that her husband was in - ski trips, golf outings and private planes.

You weren’t there when her husband’s company closed and all of the special treatment abruptly ended.  The disappointment she experienced when she realized that people treated them specially only because of the position her husband was in, not because of who they were.

You weren’t there when she supported her husband through a job search that lasted for two long years.  The discouragement they both faced.  And the faith that they clung to for strength that got them through.

You weren’t there when her husband finally got a job again and their lives were finally taken off ‘hold.’

You weren't there when...

You weren’t there when she had physical problems that took over her life.  When she was housebound, couch bound, for years and was unable to experience much of her life except for pain. 

You didn’t see her sadness and frustration when all she could do was watch everyone around her live their lives.

You weren’t there when she finally got cured.  When her husband bought her the Lexus as a ‘get well gift’ and she was able to start rebuilding the life that was lost.

But, you were there that moment when you saw her in the Lexus

BUT, you were there for the moment you saw her in her Lexus waiting at the traffic light next to you on the street that day.

Are you qualified to judge her?

Are you qualified to judge her?  To determine if she should be driving a car like that?  If she looks worthy enough, friendly enough, good enough?

We never see the whole picture

You see, we never see the whole picture.  We just see a momentary glimpse of a person’s life.  Our lives are composed of so much more than what others can see. We all have hundreds of experiences that bring us joy and hurt, victories and defeats that no one will ever know about.

And they affect us all in different ways.  The real test is - do we keep on going?  Do we keep on striving, planting seeds for the next harvest - the seeds that no one but God can see?

The next time you see a women in a Lexus, say a little prayer

So, the next time you see a woman in a Lexus, instead of judging her, say a little prayer for her, because she is going through struggles of her own.

You see, no one gets through this life totally pain free

You are both in this journey called “LIFE” together.  No one gets through totally pain free – no matter what type of car you are driving.

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