Van Horn RV Park
Van Horn, Texas
May 7, 2016
Now I know why I had to extend my stay here until today.
I don’t believe the Lord visits sickness on us to create events--although there was Saul’s blindness. But I do believe when we encounter things we perceive as bad--as Paul found out--God’s often preparing a redemption.
And today was such a day. If you read the other blog, you know I had to cancel the trip to Utah today. That was really painful for me on many levels and, at some point, I’ll need to work through all of it. Lots of learning, even if it was painful.
But then the Lord redeemed the day...and the whole trip!
I met an extremely interesting man today. He and his wonderful wife were heading for New Mexico to meet a group of friends and horsepack into the wilderness for several days. With his job he really needs to connect with nature to keep his soul. Suffice it to say, in his profession he contends with the underbelly of evil on an almost daily basis. And yet he is one of the most gentle souls I’ve seen.
They pulled into the site next to mine about 1:00 last night. I didn’t even know they were there until I went to the office to reregister to stay over thru tomorrow. When I got back to the coach I was tired, but I needed to refill my fresh water tank and didn’t want to wait until the heat of the day, even though I would be under the shade tree. I hooked up the hose, started filling the tank and went inside to see how full it was.
When I came back outside he was walking around the front of his Jeep and we started the usual RVing conversations:
Where you headed? Home
Where’s home? Bulverde, just north of San Antonio
Where you from? Waco
Really? I graduated from Baylor.
When? 1960.
My wife and I are both Baylor graduates.
After comparing our rigs and a little small talk the real conversation began. And it was one I really needed. He, too, had lost his wife and, in the same month, had to take mandatory retirement from a job he’d held for thirty-three years. The next few years were pretty much lost until he met and married his current wife.
Both are deep Christians, and our conversation about the Lord wandered through the trips to the Holy Land we both had made and other life experiences. As he shared his story, and his deep faith, I could feel my own pain easing away.
We sat on the picnic table under our shade tree and talked for nearly two hours even though they had another six hours to drive before meeting their friends for supper.
When his wife came out of their trailer, we shared a wonderful conversation as well. Their deep respect and love for each other was so obvious.
And it seemed as though each time we started to part ways, we would begin sharing again.
I’ve known them for such a brief time, but believe I made one of those strange lifetime friendships only God can create...just like other friends I’ve met in my yonderin’s and can’t wait to meet again.
Till then…
Thanks for journeying with me.