“He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident, trusting in the Lord.” Psalm 112:7 (CSB)
Payback isn’t always bad. If you are a Grits reader, you know this is one guy who is pretty proud to be an American. I love our country but that doesn’t mean we always get it right. When we were in England, we discovered something that was awesome. Let me explain it to you. We took the train up to Edinburgh, Scotland and back. I had thought about driving but one thing they don’t get right over there is which side of the road to drive on. They don’t drive on the right side of the road…literally. So, after a short debate we decided to take the train.
I was impressed that their trains are fast. The train we caught to Edinburgh was zipping along and I pulled out my trusty iPhone and discovered we were going 125 mph—now that is cool. But that wasn’t the coolest thing. Coming back, we were zipping along—until we weren’t. About two-thirds through the journey, we made an unexpected stop in a small village. The train driver guy came on the PA and apologized. There was a problem up ahead with the signaling system so all trains, including ours, were stopped. Well, after about 15 minutes, he came back on to let us know it was going to be a while, so he invited us to step off the train and stretch our legs if we wanted to. We did—so we did.
Well, there was a Starbucks inside, so I got a cup of something and then my wife, Judy and I walked up and down the platform for a while. By now we had been stopped for just shy of an hour. No problem…everyone seemed to be handling the delay quite well. So, we walked some more and finally decided to get back on. Every few minutes the train driver guy would come back on the PA and apologize and promise to keep us updated. Well, after 118 minutes, I know, not because I was looking at my watch but because he told us, we were “back on the road (or tracks) again.”
As we got underway, he apologized for the twentieth time and then told us to be sure and visit the railroad’s website…wait for it…to get our money back. Yup…you read that right. Apparently, on public transportation, including railroads, any delay over 30 minutes entitles you to some sort of refund. In our case, we received a 100% refund of our ticket price…all without even asking. What! Can you believe that? So, we turned in our information and in a couple of days all if our money was back in our account. Now that is amazing.
I’m not sure, but that might be one reason why everyone on the train was so low key about the delay. They knew that the train company was going to take care of them. It didn’t change the delay but it sure did make it more tolerable. In a small way, that is kinda, sorta like God. You see in our lives; we have the confident assurance that God is going to take care of us too. And, if we are wise enough to trust Him, it might just make our life journey less stressful. The journey is better if we know the end…it is true with trains and it is definitely true in life.
So, as you do your life journey, listen for the voice of your Dearest Daddy…He will probably be telling you to trust Him. He won’t apologize for the delay or the circumstances, but He will let you know that…He’s got this. Bro. Dewayne
Grits with Grace 