My great-grandfather was what you could call a “Railroad Man.” Meaning that for a good portion of his life (nearly 20 years), he worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad’s Texas Division (Known as the Texas and New Orleans).
Now, before anyone gets any grand ideas or images of my great-grandfather pulling the whistle of a mighty steam locomotive, or behind the throttle of a streamlined diesel engine, his lot was not so dramatic or romantic. Instead, he was a laborer; more specifically, he was on a bridge gang.
Every week on either Sunday evening or Monday morning, my Papa would pack up his things and make his way to the main Southern Pacific depot in his county in Rockdale, Texas. From there, he and his crew could be sent all over the state to work on and inspect the various bridges owned by the railroad company.
Their home would be a remodeled boxcar configured to hold the work crew and sustain them throughout the week. They would load up into this “bunk-car,” be hitched to a freight train headed to their job, be dropped off at the bridge, and live on site until Friday, when a returning freight would pick them up and bring them back to Rockdale. Their jobs and lives were dictated by the railroad schedule and whatever train they were coupled to that day.
Our lives are much the same way when it comes to our own journeys. We make plans, start projects, and set goals, then we hitch our boxcar to the momentum of life and see where it takes us. But so often forces outside our control have a way of diverting (or even derailing) our route. Unexpected problems arise, unexpected jobs arise, and before you know it, the plan you’ve set before you looks nothing like the initial project in your mind.
Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with Christians making plans; in fact, the Bible provides strategies and advice for believers trying to start such ventures. In the Book of Proverbs, it is written, “The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.” Even Jesus says in Luke 14, “For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”
So the skillful, wise planning of believers is something to be sought in our faith walk. But what we must be aware of and expectant of goes back to my initial story of my great-grandfather’s boxcar.
Our lives are a series of routes and pathways that are hopefully guided by God, but oftentimes guided by ourselves. We have our own boxcars hitched to a locomotive of decisions and choices, guided either by the Holy Spirit or by our own free will. Our rail lines can also be affected by outside forces and the decisions and choices of others.
The question is not, “Will the route change?” It’s “When will the route change, and who is causing the change to happen?” Being a Christian is having the faith during these moments of rerouting and derailing that God will see us through. It is also putting the overall planning of our journey back into the hands of the Master Railroader. As it is written in the prophet Jeremiah, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
Being along for the ride “at times” is not always comfortable or even wanted. But it is the state we must accept if we are going to put ourselves into the hands of our Creator.
Our approach should not be to anticipate when we can once again take control; it should be to mentally and spiritually prepare for the work and mission we must complete once the train arrives at its destination.
It didn’t matter where the train was taking my great-grandfather for the job ahead; what mattered was getting that job done once the train had arrived.
The rails may lead to an uncertain destination, but the one who is driving the train and our task before us are always certain. Christ is our engineer, and the job is to make Disciples for that engineer and equip more workers for the Kingdom.
May your week have clear tracks ahead and concise orders from our Railroad Superintendent and Heavenly Father!
—
Pastor Mike McVey
Minister – First United Methodist Church, Fairfield, TX
Chaplain – Texas Game Wardens, Freestone County
Cell: 919-935-2513
Email: pastormike@fumcfairfield.org
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
“Semper Paratus” – Always Ready
