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This morning, on the way to my daughter’s school, I was stopped by a train. It stopped me at the worst time. I was trying to get my daughter to school on time, and I was almost there. I made one last turn down a long straight street, and there it was, the train. This was not just a train, but a stopped train. As a child, I use to like trains. I owned a train set. I loved to watch the big locomotive pull all the other cars. I enjoyed counting the cars. I really enjoyed watching for the caboose. As I have grown older, I don’t think I like trains anymore. Here I am sitting here, frustrated and stopped by a train. The longer I sat there, with the clock ticking, I began to ask myself questions. Who’s idea was it to put a train right here? Whose bright idea was it to schedule a train run right now? Do they not know that I have somewhere to go, and somewhere to be? The real question all of us want to know is, why does the train go down the track, but then stop? Why do they go one way, stop, and then back up? Is the conductor drunk or took the wrong track? The longer I sit here, the more frustrated I become. Out of nowhere, a moment of teaching comes upon me. As I am sitting in a line of traffic, I begin to see cars turn around, and find an alternate route to their destination. My daughter asked, “Where are you going Dad? I said, “I am going to find another way.”

Here are a few thoughts that came to me while waiting on the train.

1. Just like life, trains are just a part of life. DON’T TRIP, CALM DOWN!! DON’T TAKE IT PERSONAL!! I promise you, nobody purposely timed the train to come down the track to frustrate you. (sorry, You are not that important.)

2. Be patient!! This train too will pass!! Stop being so impatient. Sometimes, if you would have just waited a few minutes, the train would have passed.

3. Remember, there is always an alternate route!! Since there are always trains and interruptions in life, accept it. Find an alternate route to your destination. Some people stay stuck in train lines, and in life, because they don’t plan alternate routes. I was so happy to tell my daughter, “Honey, there is always another route!”

4. If all else fails, count the train cars that pass. If that bores you, COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS!! The blessings of God are like the train cars, they are connected to God, and they keep on coming!!

5. Remember, the caboose signals the end of the train. Nowadays, you see no caboose. The blessings of God are perpetual and never ending.

Thank God for the train!!
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