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Dayton Diary: Bus driver

Dayton Diary: Bus driver

Peyton Wade ’23 August 16, 2024

Through my senior year, I struggled with the approach of graduation and with what I’d do after UD. 

The Flyer Bus

 

One day, everything hit me all at once. I had just gotten a paper back that didn’t do as well as I wanted. I got off my shift at my job on Brown Street — well, if you have ever worked a job in customer service, you know how that can be. The day wasn’t a good one. As I started to walk home, it started snowing really hard; and that irritated me more. 

I saw the Flyer bus and decided to hop on to avoid the cold. It was only me and the driver on the bus. He was reading a Bible. I sat down expecting to be on my phone like everyone does now, but the driver sparked some conversation. He asked me how my day was. Usually, I would just say, “Fine.” Instead, I responded, “Honestly, not too good.” 

Instead of brushing this off, the driver asked me why I was having a bad day. After some explaining, he offered some perspective. To the snow, he replied with why we have snow. Snow covers the ground so other things can grow when it’s their time. It acts as a blanket. 

Next, he told me that when people say they are having a bad day, the next word out of their mouth is usually “I.” He said the world tells us that the focus should be on us and how others react to us and what they think about us, but Jesus shows us that it is about Him. Every “bad day” has a purpose. Things aren’t happening to you, but for you. It is all about how those circumstances filter through us to help others. 

I became calm as this peace washed over me. I told him he should become a motivational speaker or something, but he told me he didn’t need a platform. He said his everyday life was enough. He said that he only needed people like me who ride the bus, that Jesus would work through him in his life as a driver. 

Whoever that driver was, I thank him for teaching me something I didn’t know I needed. 

“Dayton Diary” is a series of short, personal UD stories: quirky encounters, lighthearted moments or heartwarming snippets. Why not write one yourself and send it (up to 300 words) to magazine@udayton.edu. Put “Dayton Diary” in the subject line. 

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