One never expects to find a theological mentor behind the glass at a Pennsylvania turnpike, but then God seldom works the way we expect.<\/p>\n
I was there on business, on a trip I didn\u2019t want to make, during a time when I really couldn\u2019t afford the time away to make it. On my way to another meeting that I didn\u2019t want to attend, in a rental car that felt far too small and unfamiliar. The coming nor\u2019 easter came early, making travel even more cumbersome and tedious. Visibility dwindled with each passing mile as buckets of rain waged war on the Buick\u2019s over-worn wiper blades.<\/p>\n
And I was angry. Angry that I had to be across the country in a blinding rainstorm when I\u2019d rather be home with my family, chipping away at some overdue writing deadlines on my desk, spending time with my kids, sleeping in my own bed at night. I was angry and tired and dreadfully imposed upon.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s when I pulled into the toll booth. The one that was about to confiscate another buck and a quarter from me, even though I was certain the road had long since been paid for. I considered complaining about the pits and potholes, until I caught a glimpse of the kind eyes and warming smile waiting for me behind the tollbooth window.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow are you this fine evening?\u201d she sparkled.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d I answered, digging for my wallet, dogging bullets of water through the open window. \u201cHow are you?\u201d I only asked because it seemed expected.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m very blessed! Thanks so much for asking!\u201d<\/p>\n
I mustered a grin and passed her a five. \u201cIsn\u2019t this rain wonderful?\u201d she asked, making small talk and change at the same time. \u201cI just love it when it rains like this. It makes the air smell so clean. And the good Lord knows we need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is nice,\u201d I lied, reaching for my change, trying to sound more pleasant than I felt.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt certainly is,\u201d she chimed. \u201cI can\u2019t wait for Spring this year. With all this rain we\u2019ve been having, why it\u2019s going to be beautiful!\u201d<\/p>\n
I nodded politely, gathering my change and sliding it into the cup holder.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have a blessed time in Pennsylvania,\u201d she continued. \u201cAnd be careful on these slick roads.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks, I will,\u201d I said, coasting forward as I spoke. Then just as the window inched shut one parting phrase pierced the air. A comment I would have missed had I been a few seconds faster on the button.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod bless you!\u201d Like one last heaping coal of kindness singeing the hairs of my already convicted spirit. I waved to acknowledge her words, but I\u2019m sure she didn\u2019t see. So I drove on, the brief exchange resonating in my mind.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s amazing how God can use a simple, unexpected encounter to shake your attitude back to center.<\/p>\n
Here I was, a man more blessed than most, with far more going for me than against me, with a rewarding career, a beautiful wife, two wonderful kids and a dog named D.C., all who love me dearly, a great home, even greater friends\u2026 a life more blessed than any man deserves. Yet I couldn\u2019t see far enough past the inconvenience of the moment to appreciate it.<\/p>\n
And in the other corner, a woman who makes her living making change in a six-by-six box on the freeway, pelted by wind and rain and gravel each day, suffering the smog and smoke from passing motorist for a paycheck that\u2019s clearly far smaller than she\u2019s worth, yet she exuded joy and contentment from every pore of her being.<\/p>\n
There was clearly something wrong with this picture. And it wasn\u2019t the woman behind the window.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation,\u201d wrote the apostle Paul, \u201cwhether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.\u201d (Phil. 4:12)<\/p>\n
And the implication is that you and I can learn it as well. More than that, we can learn to live it. Just like Paul. Just like Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Just like Francis of Assisi\u2026 Just like the Toll Booth Woman of Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n
Contentment is not a condition of the body but a state of the heart. It\u2019s not an attitude that overcomes you, but a conscious decision to overcome your poor attitude, even when things don\u2019t go your way. It isn\u2019t the by product of a happy life; it\u2019s a choice of the soul to make your life happy, even when there\u2019s little reason to justify it.<\/p>\n
Contentment isn\u2019t something that finds you; it\u2019s something you find when you suddenly realize just how blessed you are to be a loved child of the Most High.<\/p>\n
Not a particularly profound thought, but an important one I thought worth sharing on this very fine Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
Be blessed!
\nFrank<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
One never expects to find a theological mentor behind the glass at a Pennsylvania turnpike, but then God seldom works the way we expect. I was there on business, on a trip I didn\u2019t want to make, during a time when I really couldn\u2019t afford the time away to make it. On my way to another meeting that I didn\u2019t … <\/p>\n