Uphill Freight Train

Last month Judy went from daily visits with our granddaughter in NICU to immediately caring for her 94-year-old mother, recovering from a recent fall. Both ends of the age spectrum!

A dear friend commented, “It feels like you’re pushing a freight train uphill.”

The Lord soon reminded me of my only freight train experience 50 summers ago. As a spirited 22-year-old, I was hitchhiking from California to Washington—blessed to be picked up at dusk by a man who worked for the railroad.

Stopping at a payphone, he learned that a freight train nearby was leaving at 11 PM for Klamath Falls, Oregon. He took me there and found an available flatbed spot under a tractor-trailer rig where I could roll out my sleeping bag.

Just as the train was about to depart, I was joined by five seasoned train-hopping vagrants who knew the train I boarded was bound for Salt Lake City, not Oregon. The train gathered steam as our conversation ensued. I considered jumping off, but the train was moving too fast. My freight-mates also knew this train would slow down to 5 mph at 2 AM, going around a mountain bend.

There I was heading due east, uphill, into the mountains from which I had just hitchhiked. At 2 AM I was ready to jump off, but the slowing train was still moving too fast.

Suddenly one of the men started swearing as he discovered the train had taken a turn north toward Oregon. Of the six of us, God had directed this rookie to the right train. (And so glad I learned this without jumping off!)

Yes, our freight train has recently traversed some uphill terrain, but we’re not pushing it—we’re trusting God to reveal where this ride is headed. We’re not ready to jump—some great days lie ahead. Our leadership successor search is once again picking up steam. 

Our granddaughter Charlotte, growing to over four times her birth weight after four+ months in NICU, is now home. Praise God! And Judy’s mom is home too, surrounded by a wonderful team of caregivers.

We’re also deeply encouraged by younger generations partnering with us to move YES! forward. Our revamped website is one recent example.

And we’re heading to Branson, Missouri, joining over a thousand older adults for a ministry conference—and blessed to lead an Intergenerational Discipleship Friends breakout session.

Your partnership with us on this train ride is deeply appreciated.