This past week was a long one. I left home last Wednesday morning for a quick two-day trade show and convention in Galveston, Texas, and found myself on the road for six days. ... Six days. A good three days more than for which I had planned.
By the time I arrived home yesterday evening, I was shot. I was stinky and sweaty and had been wearing clearance sale clothes from Walmart for the past three days because my luggage made it home on Saturday, but I didn't.
Maybe worst of all was the 12-hour day spent in the Denver International Airport on Saturday, waiting on standby for plane after plane going home. ... And then there was the event I wrote about previously.
But, you know what? ... Even given all of that, the journey was worth it. In less than a week I got to visit the historic ocean-side town of Galveston, tour it's unique downtown and eat fresh-caught seafood in a terrific little place called the Shark Shack, voted Galveston's best new restaurant a year ago. I stayed at a magnificent resort, the Moody Gardens, that included a $55 million renovated aquarium, a zipline park and a water park, among other amenities. I rode a trolley for a $1 for miles along Galveston's coast and then into the downtown, seeing popular tourist destinations, some of which have been around for 100 years.
And then when I made it do Denver, a dear friend came to rescue me from the hotel on Sunday and took me sightseeing all over Denver. We toured the famed Red Rock Amphitheater, saw mule deer in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, watch a glorious sunset over the mountains, and spent a long afternoon, lazily bumming our way around the downtown's amenities.
And then there were the people. ... Man, the people.
Every stop along the way, I met people who helped to make my business trip feel a whole lot more festive, and then when I found myself in real jams, there were all kinds of people in all facets of service jobs who went out of their way to make my day better, to help my trip along, to ensure that this trip wasn't going to go sour on me.
And the interesting thing is that I will never meet anyone of them again. ... I mean, sure, there's always a chance, but the odds are astronomical. And yet they cared. They cared enough to go way above and beyond what their job demanded of them. And I will be forever grateful. It reminded me that given the chance, most people will be good. And it reminded me of the lesson that Jesus wants to teach us: We find Christ in our relationships with others.
And this past week, I found Christ over and over and over again. And for that I am very grateful. They turned what could have been a terrible trip into something unforgettable, even if it was a work trip!
And because of them this past week I found faith in the journey!
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