The Efficiency Express

Faster and faster we hurtled along. The landscape blurs from the window. Faster and faster we travel. The beauty of where we were lost quickly to the past. Faster and faster the efficiency train ran head first along the track that had been laid down. Faster and faster we rocked in our carriages coupled together; resistance was futile. Where were we going? How long would it take?

Brakes slamming we ground to a hault. Wondering what was wrong we looked at our watches. Anxiety clamoured for attention as schedules were lost. Phone calls and texts and emails rang out. Sat on the tracks our journey before us wondering why you and I should be waiting this way? A voice from heaven declared an emergency. Hearts skipped a beat as we waited to hear. What happened? Who was it? What casualties were taken? Anxiety and panic an alarm call of pain and distress. First Aid is needed an ambulance called. We sat and waited some answered the call.

No longer faster and faster but ground to a stop we sat and we pondered and reflected some more. How long must we wait? How long will it take? How long will it take on this journey of faith? Anxiety subdues and peace starts to reign. No point in worrying about the schedule delayed. Acceptance and reassurance enter the carriage, sanity breaks. We see for the first time the beauty outside.

The train begins to shudder and we start moving once more. Tracks laid down a lifetime ago dictate the direction. Faster and faster the train flows once more. But who laid the tracks? Do they still show the way? Do we journey together or each our own way? Does the voice in the sky make any sense? Do we ignore the tanoy instead? So many questions to ask on the way. The conductor just smiles and says, 'Have a nice day.'

All Aboard?

As I opened my front door this morning I was greeted by fog.  I got into the car to take my husband to the station.  I knew the direction I wanted to go in but I couldn’t quite see everything in front of me.  It wasn’t until I was right upon something that it became clear.  Inch by inch the direction of our path was revealed in front of us.  I dropped him off at the station where he took the express train to London.  I went back home.  I was cold and my bed that I had not long left seemed inviting.  The pull was strong. I couldn’t resist.  I got back into bed.  Snuggling down I felt the familiarity of the warmth that was still there from before.  Pulling the covers back over my head I felt the comfort and reassurance of my bed.  I began to dream…

I am on the express train of a church that has fantastic mission ideas that are working well and bringing more and more people through the doors.  They have invited me to the buffet carriage.  They feed me, they encourage me, they show me how they make this mouth watering sandwich that people cannot get enough of.  They pray with me, they fill me full of wonderful ideas, they equip me, they pay my fare because I have no money in my pocket and I have lost my ticket.  I take a leap of faith as I mind the gap getting off at the next station.  I stand on the platform feeling slightly bewildered but encouraged by the excitement of the express train, I wait patiently for my own train that chugs slowly into the station.  I get on and set to work in the buffet carriage making my own sandwiches using the ideas that I have picked up.  The sandwiches are not exactly the same as the ones before but people start to like them.  The sandwiches get better and people become hungrier for more.  Soon word gets around and more and more people start to get on the train that is now no longer chugging but going at great speed.  We stop at a station.  There is someone like me standing there; they are not me they have other gifts and abilities but they need encouraging.  I invite them on and we head off to the buffet carriage so they can be fed and sample our sandwiches.

Today is a new day that beckons possibilities.  We can return to the comfort of our warm and familiar bed or we can find our way through the fog and take the express train of interdependence.  True interdependence through our churches where we encourage one another, share ideas, pool resources, are accountable to one another and pray for one another.  Where we laugh, joke, and cry with one another sharing both the good and the bad.  Being honest with one another.  When I needed a neighbour, where you there, were you there?  I was hungry and thirsty, were you there, were you there? The creed and the colour and the name of the train don’t matter, were you there?  I dream of a Baptist union where we travel on the express train of true interdependence…  
 All aboard!