We have now been on the road for a month. We have about three more weeks to go. We have crossed seven states and traveled on innumerable highways and freeways. We have also stayed at many hotels, numerous Airbnbs hosts, and been guests at all sorts of households.
We have recently joined an online community of people who offer meal and lodging to passing through travelers who also belong to the same online community. This week we were invited to stay at the home of a sweet older couple in a mostly Swedish community. The man had been a minister and was still writing a column in the local newspaper and his wife is a homemaker, and we must add, a wonderful cook! This faithful sweet pastor also invited some of his friends for whom we did an impromptu concert and teaching about Israel. In the evening, they took us to the local municipal band concert which we enjoyed very much. As we stayed we learned everything about this man's life, his travels, his hobbies, his beliefs, his favorite teachers and evangelists, his family, more of his family, and even more about his family. Whereas it was all very interesting, we had hoped for a time to lay our heads, rest, as well as catch up on some correspondence and planning. And whereas we were very thankful for their hospitality, at times we just needed a little time to ourselves. In a heartbeat, we had become the hot, sweaty, tired captive audience of this very sweet and sincere man. Comfort came to me in the form a quick thought, "I hope that after I have lived a full exciting life, when I am 77, someone will take the time to politely listen to my stories about all the things I've done and the places I've been to!" We have sometimes helped organize functions for homes for the elderly. It is amazing the stories you get when we take the time to listen to them. Really, everyone has a story, and oh, what do we miss when we don’t take the time to listen to them. We could learn much more about life by listening to the stories of the old than by listening to the rambling of the young on social media and who would not wish that when we are old, someone would not take the time to listen to us.
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