Whoa, God!!!!

                             Whoa, God!!!!

      Have you ever had the feeling your no longer in charge of your life?  That is not a bad thing if you know who is in charge.  It is when you are aimlessly wondering that it gets problematic.  Then again if you are living according to John 3:8 that is the way things should be.  You need to be available to go where you are moved by the Spirit so He can work through you.

      The last month and a half my life has been like a roller coaster ride going uphill.  I keep thinking I have reached the top and then something else happens and it changes direction, but keeps going up.  Yesterday I did not know how I was going to solve a problem in my life and today that problem is solved.  Mainly because I followed where I felt the Spirit was leading me.

     I was sitting at my desk pondering how I could get hold of someone at the Road Angel and all of a sudden I realized I was doodling on one of their note pads.  It had been in my desk for almost ten years.  I don’t know when I got it out, but I tried calling and got no one but the answering machine.  That in itself was a good sign after ten years.  It is a little over a two hour drive from my house.  So I hopped in my new car, which is another blessing and another part of this story, and  went to the Road Angel Truckers Center in Brownstown, Illinois at Exit 68 off of I-70. 

     New people have taken over the helm and hope to get the Centre back up and running.  It has always been run by donations of time and money given by volunteers.  The new staff is determined to bring it back to the ministry it started out to be.  Before I had my heart attack, in January of 2004, I used to stop at the Centre often.   They used to feed as many as 40 to 50 people at a meal.  All the cooking, all the food, and all the work was done totally by volunteers.  The parking lot would often be entirely full.  My heart sank a little as I pulled into the lot and saw only one trailer with no truck.  Then I saw the open sign and all the cars and pickups and realized something was going on.   

    When I went inside it had changed a lot but the Spirit was still present.  I missed the wood burner and the couches in the lounge, but they had a gas fireplace in the Chapel area and I had the opportunity to meet some of the new staff and it was a rewarding experience on both of our parts.  We hashed over what we had done in our lives and figured out our lives had crossed paths many times over the years.  I also discovered all my years in logistics may not have been in vain.  All the work that needs to be done is not physical.  Thank goodness at 67 I am over all that.  Well I hope to be anyhow.

       Having just mixed the concrete and built a thirty-four foot long and three foot high cinder block wall, I can do it if I pace myself.  I would just like to think there are younger people who will take up that slack. There is a fence row on the property facing the interstate that needs to be cut down and cut up.  They are wanting to put up a new sign facing the highway.  The trees would block any view of it, so they have to go.

      Water, plumbing and electrical problems need to be addressed just to name a few things on their “to do” list.  My main goal in writing this is to let the truckers out there that used to stop at the Centre, it is back.  At least it is our goal to see it come back.  So if you are trucking on I 70 and are in the area you might want to stop in and meet the people and see what is going on.  Or even what they could use your help to get going.

       If you get the chance to stop by and say hi to Dock and May Hinman, tell them Turtle said Hi.  Well I got to get back on the road and take care of a few more things before the holiday is upon us.  Hopefully will be writing more, but then again I plan to spend a few days a week at the Centre trying to help get things off the ground. 

       Like I tell my wife, “I have absolutely nothing to do since I am retired, and I can’t find time to get it done.”