Hopes of the Road

Gentle, Mobile People Making Do C. 2012, Doug Blair

Ready to Give the Reason

Allan needed this break. Time to stretch. Check the tires. Load security. Last time here was about six weeks ago. Good food. Always full of drivers. Probably would recognize some. First name basis. Easy discussion about loads. Different fleets and working conditions. Police from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

This part of Pennsylvania was beautiful...particularly in autumn. Rolling hills. Small well-kept farms. But treacherous with the lowering of the sun. Lengthening shadows. Sudden steep down-slopes or curves. He felt his eyes strained and his frame tense.

Thankfully no bothersome "lot lizards" getting in his way as he did his walk-around (pathetic young prostitutes cruising the service stops in vans).

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Once inside he immediately appreciated the warm lighting, cozy temperature and delightful smells. Waitress with the poofy hair and knowing smile gave him a grin and pointed to a few empty tables in the far corner by the mural with all those beautiful painted Kenworths.

What would it be this time? Breakfast? Hearty dinner? On the road daily regimen was cast aside when it came to eating or sleeping. Sleeping. Yeah, that had been the topic of conversation last time here, with a couple of drivers from Quebec. They had heard of a casual acquaintance who had fallen asleep at the wheel on these hills and missed a hazardous turn. Dead. Perhaps the trucker's greatest enemy. That and the usual squeeze faced by broker drivers in their company arrangements. Mileage allowances. Weight and hazard adjustments. Inter-state licencing. Fines. Fuel prices. Maintenance and repairs. The little guy's tab seemed endless.

Waitress with a badge stating "Marge" arrived offering menus. "Good evening Stretch. Haven't seen you for a while. Where you from again?"..."Kingston. Got a big load of steel coils coming back from the mill. Been hittin' the stop-and-go pretty heavily on these hills of yours."... "Yeah, but they're beautiful, aren't they?"

"I guess I'll have your hot roast beef sandwich with mashed, mixed vegetables, side salad with French and a pot of tea."

"Right away Stretch, uh Allan. I'll bring that tea and a paper."

Allan rubbed his eyes. He knew that he wouldn't be straining at the newsprint. Most of the drivers had teamed up in twos or threes at the tables. Craving company. Conversations were up and running on the Penguins, local election issues, activities of sons and daughters, gadgets and equipment to help with the job.

From behind and above he heard a familiar voice: "Allan. Remember me? Jerry?"

Allan did remember. Two visits ago they had sat and talked. "Hey Jerry. Sit down I've just ordered." Marge was quick on the uptake. Jerry opted for breakfast and coffee.

Their previous encounter was sifting through Allan's memory. Jerry was

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driving a loaner. His rig was in the shop. Serious accident in a light snowfall. Problems with insurance adjustment. Loan payments. Imposing fuel bills lingering on. Company threatening to replace him. Not enough time at home. Tension developing with his wife Stacy. One boy starting high school and getting grades well below his potential.

Yep, Jerry had really wanted to unload. And he had chosen Allan.

Good choice. For years Allan had been a member of Transport for Christ. Monthly meetings. Phone network. Frequent literature. Women's groups for the wives left at home. Allan had even considered chaplaincy work full-time, but eventually opted to stay in the field "speaking words in season to those who were weary".

Again Allan could remember his part of the conversation. "Jerry, I've seen a lot of it. Booze. Pills to keep awake. Crazy scheduling. Picky highway officials. Tricky loads. Expenses juggled frantically. A mess once with another woman. Near divorce...I finally had to concede that I did not have all the answers. At a certain point I had to let go. I needed a steady helper. I needed Jesus. I was never going to be perfect. Jesus didn't expect that, or wait for it. He just wanted a partner. I have become that partner, and prayer and study of the Bible have taken on a completely new place in my life. Jesus is close. I know it. These battles I continue to encounter are the Lord's battles."

Jerry had been quiet, respectful and appearing somewhat puzzled. They had talked back and forth for a good ninety minutes.

And now, here was Marge arriving with the food. From the look on Jerry's face and the tone of his voice, Allan expected that he was about to hear something good...

1 Peter 3:15But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

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False Guilt

A recent radio broadcast by Charles Stanley was provocative. He was attempting to help listeners who are debilitated by condemnation and guilt which are not from God. The kind of inner message which suggests, "Ah, you will amount to nothing. You are really of no value. Living a sham. Unlikely to attract any real friends. Nasty. Can't get ahead. Wasting your days."

This kind of message is a total put down without specifics. The work of Satan and not of God. Any rebuke from the Father will give you specific ground from which to repent. Weren't the Old Testament prophets always specific? Wasn't Jesus? (Look at Matthew 23)

In the case of any such true correction, the proper response is Godly repentance. Take a look at 2 Corinthians 7:

9Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.

10For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

11For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

But with false guilt there is no hope of recovery short of discerning the Enemy's devices. You will be left feeling unworthy, unsuccessful in prayer, hindered by fear, driven to distracting measures to bury the guilt, restless and never satisfied, motivated by duty and never by honest love. There will be no release, as with true repentance and forgiveness. You will have become the Devil's unwitting "canal horse".

Be warned! You must not become the victim of false guilt. A fleeting

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temptation is not the same as a program of repeated engagement in known sin. Pray for the Spirit's discernment to know the difference. Do not waste another day.

Where clearly necessary, repent and be done with it. Jesus has other things in mind for you. He does not expect perfection. Only a heart that intends to move forward on the road with Him. And a heart that will honestly listen.

Inbound Freight

Oh it’s two more loads of inboundAnd the streets of home I’ll seeAnd the tension of the tarmacFades away.And the hunching, cramped up quartersThat for days have twisted me,I’ll exchange for pause, and prize and Love at play.

And the trip this time was testingAnd the load a deuce to strap.And the drop-offs never ready,Not a one.And the hills so often amberWith their crowning frosted yield,Hold a black ice threat of havoc,Not much fun.

But it’s miles that I am killingAs the state lines come and go,And the coffee steels this drover‘Gainst collapse.

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And the thoughts of home and loved onesAnd the soothing fireside’s glow,Bring me safely to the finish,Just perhaps.

Throughout the Driver’s Day

Psalm 63

1O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

2To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

3Because thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

4Thus will I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name.

5My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness; and my mouth shall praise thee with joyful lips:

6When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night watches.

7Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.

8My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me.

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Wisdom for the Long Haul

Proverbs 21

God Examines Our Motives1Good leadership is a channel of water controlled by God; he directs it to whatever ends he chooses.

2 We justify our actions by appearances; God examines our motives.

3 Clean living before God and justice with our neighbors mean far more to God than religious performance.

4 Arrogance and pride—distinguishing marks in the wicked— are just plain sin.

5 Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind.

6 Make it to the top by lying and cheating; get paid with smoke and a promotion—to death!

7 The wicked get buried alive by their loot because they refuse to use it to help others.

8 Mixed motives twist life into tangles; pure motives take you straight down the road.

Do Your Best, Prepare for the Worst9 Better to live alone in a tumbledown shack than share a mansion with a nagging spouse.

10 Wicked souls love to make trouble; they feel nothing for friends and neighbors.

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11 Simpletons only learn the hard way, but the wise learn by listening.

12 A God-loyal person will see right through the wicked and undo the evil they've planned.

13 If you stop your ears to the cries of the poor, your cries will go unheard, unanswered.

14 A quietly given gift soothes an irritable person; a heartfelt present cools a hot temper.

15 Good people celebrate when justice triumphs, but for the workers of evil it's a bad day.

16 Whoever wanders off the straight and narrow ends up in a congregation of ghosts.

17 You're addicted to thrills? What an empty life! The pursuit of pleasure is never satisfied.

18 What a bad person plots against the good, boomerangs; the plotter gets it in the end.

19 Better to live in a tent in the wild than with a cross and petulant spouse.

20 Valuables are safe in a wise person's home; fools put it all out for yard sales.

21 Whoever goes hunting for what is right and kind finds life itself—glorious life!

22 One sage entered a whole city of armed soldiers— their trusted defenses fell to pieces!

23 Watch your words and hold your tongue; you'll save yourself a lot of grief.

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24 You know their names—Brash, Impudent, Blasphemer— intemperate hotheads, every one.

25 Lazy people finally die of hunger because they won't get up and go to work.

26 Sinners are always wanting what they don't have; the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.

27 Religious performance by the wicked stinks; it's even worse when they use it to get ahead.

28 A lying witness is unconvincing; a person who speaks truth is respected.

29 Unscrupulous people fake it a lot; honest people are sure of their steps.

30 Nothing clever, nothing conceived, nothing contrived, can get the better of God.

31 Do your best, prepare for the worst— then trust God to bring victory.

(Taken from the paraphrase The Message by Eugene Peterson)

KJV version of verse 31:

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the Lord.

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