One Refreshing Moment

By Jerry L. Crain © 1986

Issue: May, 1986

The Baptist minister in our community lived three blocks from the railroad tracks. As soon as he felt the light rumblings of an approaching train, he would run down to the tracks and watch the train pass by. Then with a smile on his face, he would walk back to his office, in his house.

One afternoon, the Methodist minister was downtown, when he met the Baptist minister coming out of the barber shop. "I know it is none of my business," he said, "But I just can't help but be curious about your frequent trips each day, down to the railroad tracks. And why, after the train passes by, do you always walk away with a smile on your face? The Baptist minister replied, "You see, I preach three times a week, conduct funerals and weddings as needed, visit the sick, call on the wayward, raise the funds to operate the church, and get called on to chair nearly every organization in town. The train is the only thing in this town I don't have to push, pull, beg or plead with to get something done."