Latest / Travel With A Purpose / Gratitude for Those We Never See

Transcript

Gratitude for Those We Never See · Travel With A Purpose

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hello, hello, so I'm your host, Dave Light, and welcome to Travel with a Purpose, a podcast designed to keep so jurors and friends informed, entertained, and inspired.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: In today's episode, I want to talk about a perspective I gained this morning following a bit of frustration, and in truth, it's a form of repentance.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: I woke up early this morning intending to get an early start on a day of writing and curriculum designing and other internet based activities.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_00: Then I saw a message on my phone that said the network service was interrupted and would not be available until mid morning.
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, of course, I was frustrated by the unplanned interruption.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: But my perspective changed as I thought about the service crew that had been up most of the night working on the network while I comfortably slept.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: I immediately offered a prayer of thanks for their work and for their safety.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: And you know what?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: My attitude immediately changed.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: That made me think of a podcast episode, so here we go.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: Earl and Pearl Traveler were on their way to another sojourn.
• 1:34
  SPEAKER_00: The RV was packed, coffee cup was full, and according to Earl's calculations, they were making great time.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, at least they had been.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Now, like we've done so many times, they were sitting on an interstate that looked more like a parking lot at a big box store.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: Earl leaned forward and looked through the windshield as though getting six inches closer to the glass might reveal what was happening several miles ahead.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, I can sense you nodding your head because we've all been there.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Well, this is just great, Earl grumbled.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: We finally get on the road early, and now we're sitting in traffic going nowhere.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Earl looked up from the book she was reading.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: Road work?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: she asked.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yep, Earl answered.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: You'd think they could find a better time to work on the road.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: Earl just smiled.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: She had enough miles with Earl to know that sometimes the best response was to simply let him hear himself for a minute.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: Then she said, Earl, those folks up there are fixing the road so people like us can travel safely.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Earl looked ahead again.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: In the distance he could see the flashing lights, orange cones, and several workers moving around in the heat.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_00: He was quiet for a moment.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: You know, Pearl, you're right.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well that statement caused Pearl to slowly lower her book.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: She considered marking the date on the calendar.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: Earl continued.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: We're sitting here in an air conditioned RV complaining about being delayed.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Those people are standing out there in the hot sun with cars and trucks passing a few feet away from them.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: And then he added, Let's pray for them.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so, sitting in the middle of a traffic jam, Earl and Pearl prayed.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: They thanked God for the people repairing the highway, and they asked him to keep those workers safe.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: The traffic hadn't moved, the road construction hadn't disappeared, and their travel time hadn't changed.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: But something else had.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: He discovered that it is difficult to grumble about people while we're praying for them.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we come to God wanting him to change what is happening around us, and while we are praying, he changes the way we see what is happening around us.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5 18, give thanks in all circumstances.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Well I don't think he was thinking of RV travel, but it sure applies.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Travel provides us countless opportunities to practice that kind of gratitude because every journey depends upon people we will probably never meet.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: We travel hundreds of miles on highways somebody built and somebody maintains.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: We stop at clean rest areas because someone arrived before us to clean it.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: We fill our rigs with fuel transported by people whose names we will never know.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: We sit down at meals and see the person who brings the plate to us.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Yet behind that person are cooks, dishwashers, delivery drivers, farmers, processors, maintenance workers, and countless others who helped make it possible.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes the people we never see become noticeable only when something goes wrong.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: The road closes, traffic causes delays, electricity goes out, or the internet goes down.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Those interruptions can easily become invitations to complain.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: But they can also become reminders to look beyond ourselves.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: And folks, I'm talking to me in this case.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps somewhere beyond our view, somewhere beyond my view, someone is working while we wait.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: Someone served while we slept.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Well we can pray for them.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Because when we bring those unseen people before God, they aren't quite so unseen anymore.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: They become people whose safety matters to us, whose work we appreciate, and for whom we are grateful.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: The traffic eventually begins to move again, the electricity will come back on, and the internet will come back up.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: Most of the time we continue our journey without ever knowing who made it possible.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: But perhaps we can travel a little bit differently because of them.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: We can pay attention, show appreciation, and we can pray for them.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: And every once in a while we may have the opportunity to simply say thank you.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: Well thank you for listening to this podcast.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: I invite you to subscribe and share it with others.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host Dave Leighton, and remember we glorify God as together we travel with a purpose.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: Happy sojourning.