Monday, May 29, 2017

Now that was a strong case of faith

The other day while driving home from work, I saw a case of extreme faith.
It was on old Route 66, coming into Rolla from the west.
I drive to work in St. Robert on Interstate 44 early in the morning when there is little traffic, but I come home in mid-afternoon on Historic Route 66 to avoid the out-of-staters and the locals in the big pick-ups, all of whom are in a hurry.
Historic Route 66 is a nice, peaceful drive. I have to get off it and back on the interstate briefly to get across the Little Piney Creek at Arlington. I get back on the interestate at the exit with a name, Jerome Dixon, and then get off at the exit with another great name, Sugar Tree.
Then I head east on old 66, travel through Doolittle, named for the World War II aviator for some reason that I know not why, and then into Rolla. It was right in there on that portion that they call Martin Spring Drive that I witnessed the extreme faith.
From a distance I saw a figure on the side of the road, my side. As I neared, I saw it was a man walking. At least he was walking on the correct side of the road, although at that point there is a sidewalk, so I don't know why he wasn't on it. There are businesses on this stretch, and many driveways that draw traffic and dump traffic back out onto Old 66. The peaceful old Mother Road becomes pretty hectic up in this stretch.
Then as I got nearer, I noticed his head was down and his arms were up at chest level
As I drove past him, I saw that he was a Millennial Snowflake wearing a backpack and holding a cellphone in his hands and his eyes fixed on the little screen. He wsa obviously thumbing a message, completely unaware of the traffic passing by him.
A young man, likely one of the young scientists in our scientific community that is home to Missouri's technological university that promotes itself as on a par with MIT, he probably does not believe in God and pooh-poohs putting all his trust in anything but science. He might claim to have no faith.
But I believe what I witnessed was pure, unadulterated faith. Faith in the wrong things, himself, me as a safe driver, other motorists following the traffic laws, but faith nonetheless.

1 comment:

Aaron Sims said...

Doolittle was named in honor of the general after his raiders bombed Japan shortly after WWII began. It was to honor him for the feat.