A Truck Driver and His Daddy and Granddaddy

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As Ray and I drove through our little downtown recently, I noticed a huge, shiny, and quite beautiful semi-truck parked beside the old hotel. I wouldn’t have given it a second thought on an Interstate or in nearby Cookeville, and certainly not if we had been in a large city. Of course, semis often pass through our town, but a parked semi on this quiet street was an anomaly.

On Tuesday night, Ray and I attended our monthly Chamber of Commerce meeting. When all the business was done and even after someone had made the motion to adjourn, a man I didn’t know stood up in the back row to address the group. He explained that he had just brought a trucking company to town, a large trucking company that is currently purchasing 10-12 trucks a week. His office is one of the offices on the first floor of the former hotel, along with the Jackson County Sentinel newspaper office, an insurance company, and a barber shop. That explained the parked semi I saw.

He said that he wants to help our little town of Gainesboro. I was impressed with the enthusiasm of this man. He explained that he was a third generation truck driver. He said that his grandfather, his dad, and he were all truck drivers and that they had all been in the Marines. He also said that he loves trucks — and wolves. His attire certainly bore this out. He wore a USMC cap and a black T-shirt. The face of a wolf covered the entire front of his shirt.

This man exuded excitement for trucks. He pointed out to us that every one of us has something in our house that is there because a truck driver delivered it. As we all know, there is likely almost nothing in our houses that did not once sit in a truck somewhere — perhaps one truck after another as it made its way from the farm or from the manufacturer to us.

I am thrilled when I hear someone honor their parents and grandparents. It is a core teaching in God’s Word.

This man’s grandfather and father had passed on to him something that he is continuing. I don’t know how they did it, but their success was obvious. The word “wholeheartedly” comes to mind. This man is wholeheartedly enthusiastic about his chosen profession. He’s even planning to bring a truck show to town so other people can enjoy his passion.

In 2 Chronicles, King Jehoshaphat gave some Levites, priests, and heads of households a job to do, then he told them to do it faithfully, wholeheartedly, and in the fear of the Lord. That is how we want to live our daily lives — faithfully, wholeheartedly, and in the fear of the Lord. We want our children to live their lives that way, too. We don’t want them to drag through their days but to live them enthusiastically.

Then he charged them saying,
“Thus you shall do in the fear of the Lord,
faithfully and wholeheartedly.”
2 Chronicles 19:9

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