It is Monday, February 25, and I am home again after my usual two week stint out on the road. Tomorrow it is back to work.
This trip began in Houston with a load to an oil distributor/blender in Atlanta. I remember that during the unload one of the distributor's employees pointed out a great hawk perched in the branches across the rail road tracks from the unloading point, remarking that he had seen the hawk take pigeons in mid air. After studying this scene for a moment, I remarked to one of the other employees as I walked back to my truck that the Bible tells us that not even a sparrow falls to the ground without our heavenly father knowing it. The employee looked up and said, "That is what our pastor preached about on Sunday."
After the unload I picked up a clean tank trailer at the Atlanta area tankwash. At the tankwash, I found another company driver named Greg waiting on a load assignment. Greg was a relatively new driver and remembered meeting me before. He shared some of the difficulties he had encountered. Greg was without a full bible so I gave him one of the paperbacks I carry in the truck with a couple of tracts for bookmarks. We prayed together before we parted company.
Now it was off to Chester, South Carolina. There my trailer was loaded and I was off to a paper mill in southwest Ohio. This meant heading up through West Virginia and trying some new "small road" (non-interstate), but God was gracious to me in providing some advice from other drivers about the proper route and the drive was pleasant.
At the paper mill in Chillicothe, Ohio, the unloader was in a hurry. It was Saturday morning and he had been called from his house to supervise the unloading. He wanted to use some methods which would have been faster, but less safe. God graciously granted me the wisdom to stand my ground and do it the right way. I sensed no opportunity for witness at this location.
Then it was off to the tankwash in Pittsburgh to drop the dirty empty trailer and pick up a clean one; and then off to Painesville, Ohio, to get loaded. At Painesville, I left a tract pinned on the bulletin board in the driver waiting area. Now it was off to Beaumont, Texas.
A Wednesday delivery in Beaumont is problematic because it has me back too close to the house too soon. There is no opportunity then for my company to send me out on a run of any length (and I am paid by the mile). But God is in charge of my dispatching. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills and is quite capable of providing me with miles, or a lack of miles, if he sees fit. (Psalm 50:10).
On the way from Painesville to Beaumont I stopped at the tankwash in Louisville, Kentucky. The tankwash in Pittsburgh had been closed when I arrived Saturday afternoon and an error in the work assignment provided by my company caused both my company and I to think that I needed to stop enroute to have a clean pump. As always, God was quite in charge of the error and the detour into the tankwash in Kentucky. There I met another driver, a fourteen year veteran named Tommy. He was waiting on a load. I gave him a tract before leaving (little did I know I would see Tommy again when I pulled into Houston).
In Beaumont I was safely unloaded, and now it was back to Houston. In Houston, I picked up and empty compartment trailer and headed to load at a Houston area plant. Alas, I would be spending the night at the plant instead of with my wife and children - so close and yet so far ...
Thursday morning and it was off to drop the loaded trailer at our New Orleans area terminal. Then I waited for a relay trailer to arrive and it was off, through Houston, to Point Comfort, Texas. It was a blind shipment and I was to stop at a customer in Houston to get the trailer retagged and to receive new bills of lading. In Houston, I was delayed, but I was soon to see God's hand in the delays. There was an hour and half wait at the Houston customer while we waited for a clerk to come back from lunch to reissue the bills. This, in turn, pushed me into Friday afternoon rush hour traffic snarled by several accidents. All of this, in turn, pushed me into Point Comfort after a 4:30 pm shift change. But I think God wanted me to get there after shift change.
The night unloader was named Edwin. It was a slow, thick product, so with the pump running at half speed or less we had a lot of time to talk while the pump churned its way through the 5000 gallons of resin. There had been trouble at the plant earlier in the day caused by human error, apparently caused by combinations of haste, greed and laziness. I remarked to Edwin that the Bible was still, though thousands of years old, the most accurate predicter of human nature. Edwin said little at first, but towards the end, as I was putting up my hoses, Edwin revealed that his father had been a pastor. I had the chance to encourage Edwin to renew his study of the Bible to become thoroughly equipped. We prayed together before I left.
And then it was back to Houston and to the house ...
Stay tuned to see if God has planned any more divine appointments for the next trip.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Back in Texas
This outing started in Houston, crossed the border into Canada at Port Huron, Michigan, returned to Detroit to pick up a load going to Clearwater, Florida; then a load from Florida back to Houston. Tomorrow is a local, regional run.
Long hours and limited internet access mean few posts.
Today I was able to give a tract to a fellow driver.
If my memory does not fade before I get home this weekend I hope to mention a few divine appointments that occurred along the way.
And finally, the Studies in the Sermon on the Mount which my dear spouse gave me for Christmas is a delight to read.
Good night.
Long hours and limited internet access mean few posts.
Today I was able to give a tract to a fellow driver.
If my memory does not fade before I get home this weekend I hope to mention a few divine appointments that occurred along the way.
And finally, the Studies in the Sermon on the Mount which my dear spouse gave me for Christmas is a delight to read.
Good night.
Monday, January 28, 2008
The next load
I have my next load assignment for tomorrow: I will be heading from Houston to Sarnia, Ontario, Canada. Border crossings are scary. I always wonder if I will be allowed back in to the United States.
Here is a good scripture for the traveler:
Now listen! The ones saying, "Today or tomorrow we shall travel into such and such a city and shall spend one year there, and we shall carry on business and shall make profit," [you*] who do not know the [events] of tomorrow. For what [is] your* life? For it will be a vapor, the one appearing for a little while, but then also vanishing. Instead, you* [ought] to be saying, "If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we also shall do this or that." James 4:13 and following, ALT
So, if the Lord wills I will travel to Ontario, Canada, and then return safely.
Internet access is scarce for me on the road. So until later ...
Here is a good scripture for the traveler:
Now listen! The ones saying, "Today or tomorrow we shall travel into such and such a city and shall spend one year there, and we shall carry on business and shall make profit," [you*] who do not know the [events] of tomorrow. For what [is] your* life? For it will be a vapor, the one appearing for a little while, but then also vanishing. Instead, you* [ought] to be saying, "If the Lord wills, we shall live, and we also shall do this or that." James 4:13 and following, ALT
So, if the Lord wills I will travel to Ontario, Canada, and then return safely.
Internet access is scarce for me on the road. So until later ...
A word of introduction and a word of testimony
I am fifty years old, married, with four kids still at home (two have left the nest). God has had me working in the job of truck driver for two and half years. My wife and I, along with several of our children, currently attend an Assembly of God church in Pearland, Texas, where we live. Pearland is a suburb just south of Houston. My wife is a marvelous Christian woman whose love for the Lord and for others is evident. My children are "works in progress". That should be sufficient introduction.
I wanted to write about the current state of the evangelical church, or about theology, but two days have passed and the words have not yet come, so I will instead write about an event of this past week which would fall in the category of testimony.
I drive over the road. I usually leave my home port of Houston on a Monday or Tuesday and then return on a Saturday about 11 or 12 days later to enjoy three days at home. An exciting aspect of my job is that I never know where my company will send me. This past week, due to several load cancellations, I found myself at my home port of Houston far too early, on Monday. This, in turn, means that I was condemned to get short loads because my time at home was due to start at the end of the week. Shorter loads mean shorter pay, but then God is sovereign and he is thoroughly in charge. My next load out and back was to Northeast Texas. There I wound up at the customer in time to meet a dear friend of mine who also drives for a living. We had a chance to chat. It is good to have a believing friend so that you can encourage one another.
Wednesday morning it was back in Houston to get loaded, and then head with a load to west Texas. I certainly did not know it but a God had one of His "divine appointments" scheduled and I was right on time. Wednesday night I was at the customer's gate in Sonora, Texas, west of San Antonio. I arrived early, about 7:00 pm, parked on the shoulder outside the customer's gate, and settled down to make supper before doing some reading and retiring to the bunk in the sleeper berth.
The next morning was delivery time, but not until the unloader arrived, unlocked the gate, and directed us inside. I say "us" because during the night one of our competitors had arrived and parked behind me, and then as unload time approached two more trucks approached, followed by a third as soon as we were inside the gate.
One of the truckers who just arrived was in a high state of agitation, and no small wonder, for his company had given him bad directions to this remote customer and he had spent part of the night on a wild goose chase. Another was concerned that one of the other drivers would jump ahead of him in line and get unloaded first. I sensed that this was time to step up and attempt to sooth things. I spoke with the unloader, determined what the unload order would be, and went back and spoke with the other drivers.
The unloader was able to unload three trucks at a time. I was not one of the three, so I was waiting with the driver who had been parked behind me. When he saw that I was not concerned about when we would get unloaded, he said: "You have a different spirit about you from these other drivers". I nodded, and went back to my truck.
My turn came. It was a challenging unload because I was in the outside spot, but God was with me and I was able to unload my tanker without incident. The first three drivers were gone, and now it was just me, the unloader, and the driver who had commented on the different spirit I had that morning.
I should mention that both the unloader and the driver were fluent in Spanish, and I had exactly two spanish language tracts left in the truck. After I had packed up my gear and remounted my hoses on the truck, I grabbed the two tracts and went up to this driver and the unloader who were standing together. I gave one tract to the unloader - who studied it, looked up, smiled and told me that he had been given this same tract years earlier. I muttered something about it being time to read it again. I then handed the second tract to the driver, and said: "You said I had a different spirit about me, well you can have this different Spirit as well."
That was it. I was then off. Pray for Rudy (the unloader) and Castro (the driver). The enemy likes to snatch seed right off the path (parable of the sower).
Oh, and what was helping me to stay patient? It probably did not hurt that I had an hour in the truck once I woke up and before the unloader arrived to read and study the scriptures and particularly a very good book which my wife got for me at Christmas. I find it absolutely essential to read and study before I get underway to get my head on straight.
Later ...
I wanted to write about the current state of the evangelical church, or about theology, but two days have passed and the words have not yet come, so I will instead write about an event of this past week which would fall in the category of testimony.
I drive over the road. I usually leave my home port of Houston on a Monday or Tuesday and then return on a Saturday about 11 or 12 days later to enjoy three days at home. An exciting aspect of my job is that I never know where my company will send me. This past week, due to several load cancellations, I found myself at my home port of Houston far too early, on Monday. This, in turn, means that I was condemned to get short loads because my time at home was due to start at the end of the week. Shorter loads mean shorter pay, but then God is sovereign and he is thoroughly in charge. My next load out and back was to Northeast Texas. There I wound up at the customer in time to meet a dear friend of mine who also drives for a living. We had a chance to chat. It is good to have a believing friend so that you can encourage one another.
Wednesday morning it was back in Houston to get loaded, and then head with a load to west Texas. I certainly did not know it but a God had one of His "divine appointments" scheduled and I was right on time. Wednesday night I was at the customer's gate in Sonora, Texas, west of San Antonio. I arrived early, about 7:00 pm, parked on the shoulder outside the customer's gate, and settled down to make supper before doing some reading and retiring to the bunk in the sleeper berth.
The next morning was delivery time, but not until the unloader arrived, unlocked the gate, and directed us inside. I say "us" because during the night one of our competitors had arrived and parked behind me, and then as unload time approached two more trucks approached, followed by a third as soon as we were inside the gate.
One of the truckers who just arrived was in a high state of agitation, and no small wonder, for his company had given him bad directions to this remote customer and he had spent part of the night on a wild goose chase. Another was concerned that one of the other drivers would jump ahead of him in line and get unloaded first. I sensed that this was time to step up and attempt to sooth things. I spoke with the unloader, determined what the unload order would be, and went back and spoke with the other drivers.
The unloader was able to unload three trucks at a time. I was not one of the three, so I was waiting with the driver who had been parked behind me. When he saw that I was not concerned about when we would get unloaded, he said: "You have a different spirit about you from these other drivers". I nodded, and went back to my truck.
My turn came. It was a challenging unload because I was in the outside spot, but God was with me and I was able to unload my tanker without incident. The first three drivers were gone, and now it was just me, the unloader, and the driver who had commented on the different spirit I had that morning.
I should mention that both the unloader and the driver were fluent in Spanish, and I had exactly two spanish language tracts left in the truck. After I had packed up my gear and remounted my hoses on the truck, I grabbed the two tracts and went up to this driver and the unloader who were standing together. I gave one tract to the unloader - who studied it, looked up, smiled and told me that he had been given this same tract years earlier. I muttered something about it being time to read it again. I then handed the second tract to the driver, and said: "You said I had a different spirit about me, well you can have this different Spirit as well."
That was it. I was then off. Pray for Rudy (the unloader) and Castro (the driver). The enemy likes to snatch seed right off the path (parable of the sower).
Oh, and what was helping me to stay patient? It probably did not hurt that I had an hour in the truck once I woke up and before the unloader arrived to read and study the scriptures and particularly a very good book which my wife got for me at Christmas. I find it absolutely essential to read and study before I get underway to get my head on straight.
Later ...
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Greetings
It is Saturday, January 26, 2008. It is my hope to write about the struggles and joys of the Christian life. May God grant me the correct words to type.
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