Waiting for the Bus

Dear Readers,

The other morning I was enjoying the drive on the Old Lincoln Highway toward the home of a client near Mifflin, Ohio. I love that drive past Charles Mill Lake, the Appleseed Amphitheatre, the Copus Monument, and through a “tunnel of trees”, as my wife and son often quote when we drive under a forest canopy.

But this day the beautiful scenery took second place to another image. School was back in session and children lined the roadway awaiting their bus coming around the corner. Most children waited with friends. But some smaller ones, perhaps attending school for the first time, waited with parents.

One young girl, perhaps upset that her summer routine was abruptly interrupted, had the companionship of her father. He was crouched down with his arm around her. Obviously I could not hear the conversation from my car, and can only surmise what he was saying. But the father’s posture showed that he cared about what his daughter was saying, or feeling.

At that moment I felt a longing in my heart for someone to crouch down, put his arm around me, and offer comfort as I await my bus (the future) coming around the corner to take me to unknown places. I want someone to offer encouragement and reassure me that everything will be alright.

II Corinthians 1:3-4 tells of someone that was sent to crouch down beside us, put his arm around us, and give us comfort and encouragement.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” (NIV)

See you next time,
Arlen