May 12

I wish to write much. There is time to write little.

The last trip was a whirlwind tour. It started, as always, at the home port of Houston with a load to Danville, Virginia. Then it was off to the tankwash at Paulsboro, New Jersey (across from Philadelphia).

At the tankwash, I was held up. The tank needed new gaskets, new lightbulbs and the like. It was situated at the end of the row near the main lane of traffic in the tankwash so that I could see and be seen as the trucks ran to and frow. Here came another orange truck just like mine. I haled the driver and exchanged greetings. He related his frustrations. He had only been driving for the company a few weeks. I shared some practical helps (directions to his next stop) and then shared how God had been such a tremendous help to me during my three years of driving. It turned out that Hubert, the driver, was a believer. I encouraged him in the Lord and prayed with him before he went on his way. It encourages me as well to run into a fellow believer out yonder.

Then it was up to Newark. There I hooked a tank bound for Maine, delivered, and returned to Newark. It was Sunday afternoon. There were few other drivers in the tankwash. While I was unhooking my trailer, another driver pulled in and it was none other than Szolz, the Hungarian immigrant driver from my home port of Houston, also relatively new. Szolz, to my knowledge, is not a believer. This time we chatted and in the course of the conversation it came out that back in Hungary Szolz had elderly grandparents who had read the scriptures daily, a fact not lost on Szolz as a young child. I am sure that they prayed for Szolz and it is thrilling to think that I might be a small part of the answer to those prayers. Anyway, I listened to Szolz and encouraged him as best I could, not being bashful about my source of help.

From Newark it was on to St. Louis, then back east to Pittsburg, then down to Louisville, then down to Memphis and on to Reserve (New Orleans). On the way to New Orleans, I met Mike. Mike drives for a competitor and had recently switched to tank hauling. He wanted to look at my truck's accessories because he was planning to invest in his own tank accessories. I showed them to him, and we talked.

Before I left I gave Mike a tract. Mike was ready for me. He proceeded to tell me that he had all types of tough questions about the bible that pastors had not been able to answer. I told him to give me the toughest, and he proceeded to ask about all of the Canaanites slaughtered at the command of God. Now that is a legitimate question. I told him how Genesis tells us that God waited 400 years after the witness of Abraham before destroying the Canaanites and asked Mike how long would have been enough? 800 years? 1000? I should have told him as well about Canaanites who were saved (like Rahab and her household). I also told him that since we all have a finite life span you are in essence quibbling over a few years here or there as to when God terminated the life of a given Canaanite. Mike had more questions. The Nephilim of Genesis 6. Some other questions I cannot remember.

After answering questions as best I could, my parting remark was that the late Dr. J. Vernon McGee was of the opinion that there were no valid intellectual objections to the scripture, but that such objections arose from man's sinful heart. In other words, it is not a head problem, but a heart problem. I think McGee was right. We will see if I run into Mike again. With over a million over the road truck drivers, repeat meetings are truly in the hand of a sovereign God.

From New Orleans, it was on to the Kansas City area. There, again at tankwash, I met another new driver from my company who professed to be a believer. We encouraged one another and prayed together.

Now here is the icing on the cake. The final load was from Dodge City, Kansas (heated beef tallow) to Houston. It had me stop for my break in Dallas just in time to have breakfast with my Mother, who was in Dallas, the Thursday before Mother's Day! Is God good or what? I am totally not in control of my travels, but God is. My company thinks that they control my travels, but they do not.

I am at home. I have had a blessed time with my wife and children and have been able to go to church twice yesterday. Tomorrow it is back to the truck....