December 17, 2014
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40 NIV
Just Passing Through
In recent years, this term, Just Passing Through, has taken on a brand new meaning for me. As I encounter people with whom I have not had contact 
recently and they ask me what I do with my time, I just smile and say… “I drive.” And I can always tell who is listening because the expected response would be for me to begin to talk about our “ grands”…or some of my personal hobbies or interests…but my response either goes completely unnoticed, or I get asked the question,
“What do you mean, you drive?”
Yes, in recent years I drive from Spicewood to Waco and back, and I have become quite familiar with the back-roads of the beautiful Texas Hill Country. And, I have become literally, a sojourner…or a stranger in communities along the way…I have realized how much of my time I spend, Just Passing Through.
Hours and hours…miles and miles…
I have devised several techniques to “pass” the time and to feel productive as I drive. Audio books worked well, at least for awhile, until I listened to Joel Rosenberg’s The Auschwitz Escape. The truthful intensity and horror were so spell-binding that I found myself exceeding the speed limit…or speeding, (I confess),…in one of the desperate moments of the escape. When the most honorable DPS officers pulled me over, I could not even begin to explain “why” I was speeding when asked the question “Why I was in such a hurry.” So…I just took my punishment and consequences and thanked them (yes, there were two!) for doing their jobs!
Now, if I use this technique, I intentionally choose lighter listening…perhaps, Christmas novels!
It’s Christmas!
I have been listening to Christmas music for the last six weeks. I love Pandora, so many wonderful Christmas stations, and I find as I drive that I lose myself in the beauty and the joy and the hope of this magnificent season…the season of celebration! The celebration of God’s gift of Yeshua Christ…The music permeates my soul…often leads me into worship…into the inexplicable peace that pours like a salve over my heart…Yes, as I drive…as I adhere to the speed limit!
However, I have realized as I drive, that I continually enter the small towns along the way, drive along their streets…stop at their traffic lights…occasionally spend money at the gas pumps…the convenience stores…a drive-through here or there…a casual wave at a child sitting in the car next to me at the red-light… and, then I exit along their roads…because, I am Just Passing Through…very seldom interacting with the people in this community…Hmmmmm….
Recently, I have become more mindful of how much time I spend…Just Passing Through…Yes, I spend time driving through these small towns, but I have also realized how much my little trips are representative of the journey of life…As we know, we embark on our journey of life and ultimately have a destination…As believers and followers of Christ, we have the Hope and the Promise of His eternity…
And, I have been asking myself the question…what do I do with the time and the experiences of my life as I am Just Passing Through? What do I do when I am stopped by a “life signal…instead of a traffic signal”? What do I do when there is a “life delay”? Or when there is an unforeseen “life interruption”…How do I respond to the unexpected? How do I respond to the inconveniences along the way? And most important…how do I respond to the other sojourners, to the other travelers along the way?…Because, the truth is that we are all Just Passing Through.
“We are here for only a moment, visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days on earth are like a passing shadow, gone so soon without a trace.” 1 Chronicles 29: 15 NLT
I know that I must be intentional about not using my condition of being a “stranger” or a “traveler” as an excuse to avoid the connection with the community of 
beautiful people in this world. It is easy to overlook or to forget that there is a myriad of people, of circumstances, of needs, of opportunities to reach “into” the lives of other travelers as I am just driving through life…There are opportunities…there are appointments scheduled by God Almighty. There are countless opportunities to make a difference, even while we are Just Passing Through…
Looking to leave evidence…incontrovertible evidence…that lasts…that we lived with a purpose far greater than ourselves…
While we stand in the long check-out lines at the retail stores…while we engage with the clerks…while we stand at the gas-pumps…while we walk in the crowded shopping malls…while we wait at the traffic lights…while we walk, with strangers and travelers, into the doors of our churches…of our schools…while we visit a friend in her hospital room, squeezing into the crowded elevators with other travelers who have experienced a “life interruption” with a loved one’s health condition…while we dash through the Starbuck’s or Chick-Filet run…we are traveling with other strangers or sojourners…and we have scheduled appointments, even when we are Just Passing Through.
On Monday, when I left at sunrise to drive to Waco, I made a decision to change my travel routine…I decided to stop along the way…I wanted to consider and to embrace the lives of these other sojourners with whom I was traveling…Truly, many of the people on the roads were residents of these various small towns…but they, like me, are travelers and are strangers on this journey of life…traveling toward their own destination.
As I listened to the lovely Christmas music…I made stops at some of the beautiful churches along the way. I parked my car…and stopped…just stopped to consider and to admire these structures which house God’s people as they come to worship Him in His House…and I just smiled and waved at the man on his bicycle…and the woman who politely slowed her car to let me cross the street to walk up closer to the door of the little church. The humble structures reminded me of what Jesus required in His life…and what God asks of us…He asks that we are grateful, that our hearts are filled and over-flowing with gratitude for the gifts which He gives to us…and that we share His gifts with others… And these beautiful churches are reflections of His most loving and grace-filled Gift! Christ Yeshua!
I snapped a few pictures and thought of the people in the communities whose lives were much like mine because we are travelers together in this life. And, I was so deeply thank-filled that Christmas makes its miraculous presence in all of these towns…in all of this world…in all of the hearts of people who make room for Him…
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’” Matthew 25:40 NIV
As we go about these last few days before Christmas Day, I pray that I will stop and be intentional to make God’s scheduled appointments for my life…wherever these appointments may lead me. Some of them will most certainly be with my family, for whom I am deeply and profoundly thankful…some of the appointments will be with friends…old and new…and, assuredly…hopefully…some will be with strangers…with sojourners whom I do not know…But, there will be opportunities to share a smile, a kind word, an ‘assistance’ of some kind…
A few weeks ago, as I shopped in a crowded store, in one of the towns, there was a huge traffic congestion in the aisles in the store. Needless to say, there were some really fussy faces…and I looked at one of the ladies and just smiled, and pulled my basket back to make room…I worked my way through the havoc…and broke out into safe travel….but as I turned down another aisle, I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to look into the face of a smiling lady. She thanked me for my “smile” in the midst of the congested aisle…she said, “Thank you for taking the time…” And of course, I thanked her for stopping me…and taking the time…and of course, wished her a Merry Christmas…
Funny, the things we remember of our days…and more important, what do other people remember of our days…of my days… Of my influence…or lack of it?
I pray for each one of us that we be travelers and sojourners who reach our hands and our hearts into the lives of others to share the love of the Savior who asks 
for nothing except for our hearts…for our love…and He lovingly, sacrificially, gave to every person His love, His life…IF, they will receive the Beautiful Gift.
So…as we are Just Passing Through, I pray that we intentionally look for opportunities to keep the appointments which God schedules for each one of us…I pray that we STOP…that we ponder…that we embrace…that we reach into the moments, the experiences, and the lives which the Lord brings along our journey…knowing that :
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
Matthew 25:40 NIV
Hallelujah and Christmas joy,
