Letting The People Pull You

This article I read more than two decades back stuck to me. It was about a cross country runner who was asked afterwards the secret to his persistence. "Most of the time it was just me and a lonely stretch of highway on the desert with the sun beating down on me, I can just give up. So I used the telephone poles. I let it pull me. When I reached a pole I aimed at the nest one."

I went down my train terminal stop at Doroteo Jose, Sta. Cruz, to catch the 5PM bus to the province, but I was minded to at least hand out 10 or so tracts. I stood just at the entrance at the stairs going into the station and took out my stash. As providence would have it a line started to form, until it became quite longer than usual. The 10 tracts I planned were just enough for me to get a seat in the bus, but 30 tracts later the queue wasn't getting any less. There were as many as 60 people in the line at most times, the thought that the nth person might be the one God was aiming to reach today just filled me and I couldn't just leave. This could very well be the last message about the Gospel somebody would read today.

After the 70th tract or so I lost count and I just thought to myself, God's person who would receive the last tract was on his or her way here. A lot of people declined, ignored, stared and shrugged right in front of me, but my mind was on the last person. I just had to wait.  Strangely I was happy and singing inside all along, shaking my legs occasionally to ease the cramps, the smile I wore did me a lot  of good as it helped lift me. This must be what fishing feels like.

As the day turned into night, I finally reached for my last tract and gave it to a simple man who stopped in front of me, he was lugging a lot of stuff and I can see that he had both his hands full, but he smiled at me and asked if the tract was free. I told him, it was specially waiting for him since this afternoon. He thanked me for giving him something to read on the train. I turned to look at him one more time as he went inside the security entrance. God bless him.

Well, I missed my bus. By this time, near 8PM it was my time to stand in line to wait. I laughed inside at myself, thinking how feeble my attempt was to hand out just 10 tracts, when the Lord had more than that in mind. 45 minutes later I boarded my bus happy and joyful. It was a very good afternoon.