Don't Miss the Bus!
Dear Friends,
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The school bus stopped to pick up a student on Narragansett Avenue. Its warning lights were flashing. The door was open. Yet, no one came running out of the house to board the bus. After a minute the door closed, the lights stopped flashing, and the bus sped off to its next stop. Moments later a child came flying out the door and down the steps, just a bit too late.
As I was sitting behind the big yellow school bus, I had a flashback to a time long ago and far away. I was that child who missed the bus back in 1968. I had experienced that same thing. It doesn't seem like such a big deal now. It was then, so much so, that it has been the source of a recurring nightmare that I still have a few times a year.
You see, we lived four miles from the school. My mom didn't have a car. I don't remember what I was doing but I wasn't paying attention. When I heard the sound of a horn I turned and began racing down our long driveway. I can recall looking toward the road and seeing the bus pull away. By the time I got to the road, I was too late. I had missed the bus.
I ran inside to tell my mom. She did what many parents would have done. She began peppering me with questions asking why I wasn't out there where I was supposed to be. I knew better. I should have been waiting and ready. I'll never forget what happened next. She called a cab to come and pick me up and take me to school. I should have been excited. I wasn't.
I rode to school in the back of that cab all by myself. Fear, anxiety and excitement were all wrapped up in one as I set off for school. The excitement was brought on by being in a real taxi cab. The fear came from being alone. The anxiety arose out of not knowing if I was going to get to school. The good news is that I made it to school and had quite a story to tell my friends.
The events of that day have had a lingering effect on me. I never missed the school bus again. I made sure that I was at the bus stop well before the allotted time. Although I bragged about the taxi ride that day, as a ten-year-old might, I didn't step foot in another taxi for over forty years. Thinking about it brought back a bad memory.
There was a positive note to come out if it. Over the years, I have made it a point to be diligent, to be ready and to keep my eyes open. I decided that I wasn't going to let things pass me by if I could help it. Every day God opens doors and offers us the chance to tag along with Him. But we have to pay attention. We have to be ready for the opportunities when they come.
When the door opens, we have to make the decision to step up and get on board. We have to be willing to follow God's lead even if we don't know where we are going. We need to trust God. He is driving the bus. You can be sure that he will not take us somewhere and just drop us off. He will be with us all the way. So don't miss the bus. Go with God and enjoy the journey.
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See you in church.
Pastor Cal