Tell the older men to be sober, dignified, sensible, and healthy in respect to their faith, love, and patience. — Titus 2:2
Approaching the tracks, I heard the horn of a freight train as the protective arms lowered across the road. No problem, I thought as the train slowly passed by. What could spoil the sunshine on a brisk winter day?
But then the train, almost past the intersection, simply stopped. After a while, it started slowly moving backwards. OK. Well, it’s still a sunshiny day. I’ll just admire the view as the train backs up. It came to a stop eventually, still blocking the road, and just sat there. It then slowly started moving forward. Good, I thought, we’ll be on our way soon.
It’s just about past the intersection when it stopped and sat there…AND THEN IT STARTED MOVING BACKWARDS AGAIN!
I think that’s when I lost it. So much for the sunshiny day. I found myself talking to the car, loudly explaining to it as to why I was so frustrated that the train was imitating a slow yo-yo. It was a pretty silly thing to do, but it was a bit therapeutic.
Eventually, after stopping once again for a bit, it proceeded to move forward. This time it actually cleared the road, the guard bars raised, the red lights stopped flashing, and the sun shone once again. The other tortured motorists and I had been stopped for around 10 minutes, which had seemed like an hour.
I relate this to say that my reaction was surprisingly over-the-top. Why did a schizophrenic train elicit such an impatient response? Maybe it’s because there’s still a part of me that demands things conform to my wishes, including time schedules. But the world seems to have its own agenda, one that doesn’t conform to mine.
So, if I were to preach a sermon on patience (and I have in the past, for all the good it did as my blood pressure rose watching the train), I would include a point about taking an intentional step back when confounding interruptions happen. Get some distance from them. Talk to yourself, and not the car, as if you’re your own therapist.
After all, the sun is still shining.