Refreshment on the Side of the Road

 



Genesis 16:7  -- The Angel of the Lord found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside the road to Shur."

The story is one in which Hagar is fleeing from Sarah and the latter's  jealousy and cruelty towards her. And as she is on the road, she stops at a spring that is beside the road to Shur. And here an angel appears.

Rest stops are always fun for me when on a long road trip. Some are formal rest stops, off the Interstates or the PA Turnpike. You leave the capsule of the car, and now you are around numerous different kinds of people, all stopping for the restroom or road food.  In the case of the PA turnpike, it might be Popeyes, or Burger King, Starbucks, or the convenience store with its variety of coffees, snacks, and if you rare lucky, roller dogs. But have you ever taken time to meet with an angel at the rest stop, or perhaps be an angel to someone in distress like Hagar?

The rest stop is a perfect time to reach out to someone, because you never know who might be in need of a kind word or encouragement. It involves a risk of sorts, because we tend to be reserved around strangers. But as Christians we need to be outside ourselves. You might just make a real difference in the life of someone!

And what about a rest stop in the country, like a rural  store and gas station? It is a perfect time to really learn about what many Americans outside the big cities are thinking -- and how they are living. Ed and I had such an experience last time we went to Hershey. We had totally misjudged the range on Ed's Toyota hybrid and were running low on gas. The the fueling station on the turnpike was closed for renovation.  It was a ramshackle gas station, restaurant, and gas pump vintage 1970. The folks had a decided view about Biden and did not hide it. Ed had his Birkenstocks on so they knew where he was coming from! 

Often these are places where poverty is more likely to be found than affluence. What is on these peoples' minds? How is the pace of life where they live different (or not), than where you come from? How authentic are these folks when compared to the people you are normally around? What is important to them? We are all in the same boat, whether we like it or not.

If you are on a road trip and were to meet an angel, what would that angel do to heal you? Would it be a physical ailment or psychological or both? What insights do you need to keep on going? What pressing problems need to be solved?






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