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| Sunny road in Vermont |
But it has gotten me thinking.
I love traveling. But every trip is different. Some are pleasure from beginning to end. Others have a wrench thrown in them halfway through, And still others are like pulling a dead horse, up a mountain, in a snow storm!
It could be the same trip, same roads, same people and every time is different!
Oh, I know a few people who are lucky enough that they have never experienced a bad trip. But they are very much the exception and should count themselves blessed.
I know the old saying "walk a mile in their shoes before you judge them" That's good. But I think it should be "take a couple trips with someone, before you judge them.
You can plan a trip to death, get out on the road and the steering belt breaks. this actually happened to us. And it kept breaking! Four different auto mechanics and hundreds of dollars later, it finally stopped breaking. nobody ever figured out why it was happening....
Needless to say we had a very short trip fearing it was going to do it again, three disappointed kids and two very worn out frazzled parents. What's that saying , the best laid plans of mice and men...
Now, two years later we took the same trip, same car. And it was wonderful! Not one complication! I can't explain it!
Has this ever happened to you? I bet it has.
Was it your fault that the trip was bad, ruined? Nope. I am pretty sure it was just the way the cogs in the universe were turning at that time. But there are still people who will say it must be something you did. You didn't try hard enough. Or the mechanic you picked was bad. I even had someone tell me I put out bad Karma and it was coming back to me. And Karma wanted my kids and husband to suffer with me?
No...No...
Sad to say, we do this in life too. We see the neighbor, or friend struggling. Know something is wrong. But instead of asking "what's going on?", "Can I help?" We say they aren't trying hard enough. Or they made their bed now they can lie in it...
It's sad, when will we learn every journey is different, everyday it changes. Today your journey may be problem free, but what about tomorrow?
I don't expect us to fix every problem. We may not have the knowledge. but instead of assuming a bad journey is a deserved one. We can offer a kind word of encouragement, some advice, if it's good and we know it will help. be loving and pray for them.
Lastly, a little story, a tribute if you will.
When Andy and I were first married and I was pregnant with James we were on the way to a doctor's appointment, our car broke down. We were on the side of the road by a little farm house on 259 and an old man and his wife came out. the man insisted on helping Andy push the car into his driveway and told him he was sure he could fix it. Smiling the whole time.
His wife mean while encouraged me to step out of the car and come have some tea with her. She talked to me about her first child, and told me I would do just fine, that her husband was good at fixing these contraptions. I felt relieved and comfortable, we were there for hours. Her husband fixed it while patiently showing Andy how it could be fixed again if it ever happened again. They would not accept a dime from us. We tried. They hugged us and told us that they would pray for us. We found out they both passed away a few years later. But to this day Andy and I cannot pass that house and not remember those two wonderful kind souls. This is for them. They made our life journey a little more wonderful and brighter. They didn't fix all our problems, but they did all they could so we could continue on.
Lets all enjoy the journey we are on, and if we spot someone on the side of the road, not sit in judgment, but safely do what we can to encourage them and help them to continue on.
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