Homesick

A Runaway Train

Once upon a time there was a man named Steve and he went on a train to get to Florida. He was traveling to visit his parents because he remembered his childhood. “I’m homesick,” Steve thought. Steve called his Mom to tell her he was homesick. His mom said, “Okay come visit us!”

Steve said, “ I cannot wait to see you!” When he boarded his local train, he was so excited to see his parents after a long time apart. After a few minutes, Steve noticed a young lady rushing down the middle aisle with a worried look on her face.

An announcement came in over the speakers, “Ahem… ladies and gentlemen, please make sure you are buckled up. I am not quite sure how to say this, but please call your loved ones. There has been a massive failure to our braking system. This train is not stopping.”

Steve screamed in shock, “Oh… please no!”

“We're going to crash!” Cried a neighboring mom. All of her children were screaming very, very loudly.

“Just in case we die here, I have to tell you I love you, and you have been the greatest blessing of my life,” a man said to his wife.

“Thank you,” said the woman, “I love you too.”..

The train conductor made another announcement over the intercom, “Passengers, prepare for impact. We are heading off an unfinished part of the rail and will be headed over a cliff. I am sorry... there is nothing I can do, it's out of my hands.”

Steve prayed to God and He responded. I will fix the train right now when they are turned around. God fixed it - but not in the way he had expected.

Rather than the brakes stopping the train, suddenly, the train tilted violently to the right side and threw all of the passengers against the windows. Bodies pressed up against each other and everyone was struggling to breathe or even yell. People cried out and pushed hard against each other as those on the bottom struggled to push heavy bodies off of them. The train was stopped though with the train finally off of the rails.

The conductor's voice boomed over the speakers again. His voice was muffled. Perhaps someone was up against the speakers or perhaps the speakers were broken. "Everyone... I'm not sure what's happened. Please check on your neighbors. Try to help each other climb out of the other side of the train. Be patient, press up against the seats and don't crush each other."

Steve was at the top of the pile on top of another person, "Thank you, God... we're going to make it."

"Get off of me!!!" a voice yelled from beneath Steve.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Steve muttered nervously. He realized that he was on top of several people who had been thrown up agains the side of the train. He looked directly above him to see the windows of the other side of the train above him.

He pulled himself up from the seats and kicked out the windows. He was going to make it home.

His parents and him celebrated with his favorite meal - fried chicken and mac-and-cheese.

When it was time for Steve to go, he realized that he was more traumatized than he had thought. He wasn’t ready to go, and he was afraid…

“Steve, remember, God has instructed us to walk by faith and not by sight. Trust that he will take care of you,” Steve’s mom said.

Steve mustered up the courage to return home. He wasn't sure if he was ready, but he knew that it was time.