Greyhound New Year's Part I

New Year's day found me at a Greyhound bus station. I ended my stay at my temporary abode with my friend in Quaint Small Town and have embarked on a new season of life. I am now staying in a rural part of what I will call "Inferior State" because it is not Virginia. My bus trip totaled 8 1/2 hours from the main city outside of Quaint Small Town to the metropolitan area of Inferior State. Now I'm staying in Rural Town outside of the capital of Inferior State.

My friend has not traveled much in life and my travel arrangements were made very last minute, so she did not actually realize the caliber of travel she was signing me up for when she booked me a ticket on Greyhound. We got to the station and she said, "Oh my gosh- perhaps this was a mistake. Well be sure to wash your hands often!" I, on the other hand, saw opportunity amidst the cross-section of raw humanity that you encounter in the Greyhound world. "Perhaps there is someone God wants me to meet," I replied. But secretly I did not look forward to 8 1/2 hours on the bus, including 2 transfers.

The first leg of the journey I did not encounter much. I sat and looked out the window at the passing rural landscape. I was reminded of other long trips with hours of rural scenery, like my 16 hour train ride from Delhi to Bombay. I asked myself how I am always seemingly in transition and if all this instability could really be considered adventure. It was then that God said, "You see the invisible Kingdom. Not everyone sees what you see."

I think that's true. My friend looked at the Greyhound station and saw dirty people and germs. I saw the opportunity for Jesus to encounter broken people. Stay tuned for those stories!