The day is as quiet as a country cathedral. No birds songs, no wind chimes’ tintinnabulations, just a southern Sunday morning quietly waking, warming up in the sunshine. Just as I get comfortable in the swing, a lonely train whistle wails loudly, bursting through the quiet, clickety clacking down the iron rails of the track, waking up my little world. The songbirds started their singing, the squirrels started their chattering, the blue jays across the street started their early morning “jay, jay, jay” calls to one another, and the wind picked and opens the wind chime hymnals. And I counted my blessings, saying a prayer of thanks to God for another day on this beautiful planet.

The bubble bees are flying through the porch buzzing loudly like they are tuning their buzzes to the wind chimes’ tones. Penelope snaps at them when they get too close to her playpen. The sky is beautifully blue today, cloudless till late afternoon when the clouds gathered to participate in the pageant of sunset. I didn’t watch the sun roll down the horizon but I know Mother Nature rendered a magnificent watercolor of the sunset. She always does.

As I listened to the train’s whistle echo down the track getting fainter and fainter, I realized we can compare our Christian faith to a freight train. The power of a mighty freight train and its journey can be a symbol of God and his strength as we travel our chosen path of faith. Our faith gives us strength to navigate through life’s challenges. Just as the train carries cargo down the metal rails, we ride our rails of faith with God, slow and steady, secure in our beliefs. God is the engine of our train of faith and we’re the cars on the journey with him. Sometimes we’re the caboose, trying to strengthen our faith as we’re dragged behind God. Sometimes he pushes us along through our prayers till we are strong enough to travel the path he’s chosen for us.

Our faith and belief in God provide direction and purpose on our journey of life just like the freight train traveling the rails is headed to a specific destination. We are all traveling a path through our faith bound for heaven and eternal life. Like a long freight train journey, with its own ups and downs, faith often requires endurance and perseverance. We journey down our tracks of faith traveling toward God and his promise of eternal life.

The Holy Spirit is the freight train engine of our faith moving us toward our spiritual destination of heaven. Our trains are bound for glory.

“The sound of a train whistle in the distance stirs the soul and ignites a sense of wanderlust.” — Unknown