The Day We Caught The Train

The train made its way through Dawlish Warren, the scene of annual family summer holidays when I was young, on its way to Newton Abbot, where I would catch a connection to Torbay, my destination, to catch up with an old friend who had moved there, whom I had last seen at his baptism earlier this year.

Stood outside Torbay station, having texted to tell him I was arriving. And waited. And waited. And texted again. No reply. Hmm, something was up, and for some reason he must be unable to meet me. So I got on the train and made my way home.

When I got home, a couple of text messages from him - where was I? The battery on his phone was low.

So, what has happened he had had to recharge the battery - and this can take time - hadn't received the messages from me, including the one where I'd said what time I'd be arriving.

There is a useful 0-10 scale for being paranoid, with former Prime Minister Harold Wilson at number 10 during his time at Number 10. Some people would have been up there with Wilson, wondering if they'd been stood up, had their time wasted etc.

But there was one thing that stopped me thinking that - I knew my friend's character. This would be just one of those things. And sure enough, we can meet up next year. Must remember to bring my bucket and spade.

And it can be like that as Christians. We cannot be sure what God is doing - and sometimes it leaves us feeling annoyed and disappointed. But the more we read the Bible, the more we become aware of His character, and from knowing this we can learn to trust Him more.