Submitted by Pastor Bill Hargis, Rock Port and Watson United Methodist Churches

I am sitting in the Bolivar Comfort Inn lobby. It’s 5:00 a.m. and I’m contemplating yesterday’s journey to get here. As an ex-truck driver, when my wife, Cher, and I go on a trip, I like to have a route planned with an ETA. This trip did not have any of this.

We left Rock Port for Shenandoah Iowa. From there we went cross country to Jamesport, Missouri, then Chillicothe, Warrensburg, Knob Noster, Mt. Ayre, Waverly, Clinton, and finally . . . Bolivar (after many more towns). Along the way we found a farm with camels, yaks, Scottish Highland cows, and ostriches. We ate ice cream and fried cheese balls, we saw a Monte Carlo jacked up so high you would need a ladder to get in. We saw pretty countryside, went through towns we never heard of and wondered: what is the story?

What does this have to do with the Spiritual Side? At one point during our trip, Cher said, “Turn here and we’ll get on 65.” I said, out of character, “Let’s stay on the back roads, God may have something down here for us to see!” So we made a right hand turn instead of a left and a few miles down this road as we popped over a hill we found camels, yaks, ice cream, and cheese balls. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.”

Remember, I’m just sitting here . . . contemplating. It’s 5:00 a.m., and I’ve been thinking about Rock Port’s graduation this Sunday . . . the rain coming down outside . . . thinking about our travels yesterday . . . and it came to me that maybe God didn’t say, “Bill and Cher need to see this on their travels,” but there is a word that came to my mind – trust. When I was thinking about our 22 Rock Port seniors, I thought about our need to trust that our young people will make the right decisions in their lives, while also knowing there will be stumbles. Our young people need to trust that this community is always ready to support, encourage, and love them, even if they do make mistakes or take that proverbial right turn and end up at a yak farm. All of us need to put our full trust in God, knowing that He is with us, even when we don’t think so.

Cher and I are coming home on Saturday, and pretty sure we’ll be on the big road this time, unless God says turn right here. Read Proverbs 3. If we trust God, everything will be fine. And remember, I love you all, and there is nothing you can do about it.