IN TOUCH WITH: The Struggle Bus

“…Fix your thoughts on what is true and good and right…” Philippians 4:8
By Betty Miller Buttram
Of Fort Wayne Ink Spot

Times have been and continue to be challenging. There have been struggles that we have overcome and there are struggles to overcome. So, let us get aboard the Struggle Bus with some of its passengers and take a ride.

There are a few passengers aboard this bus that continue to cause chaos, disorder, confusion, destruction, damage, or ruin. There is one word to combine them all — havoc. It is a force that has been around for as long as time.

So, who are these passengers? One of them is worrisome, nervous, and uneasy about an upcoming event or apprehensive about an uncertain outcome. That passenger answers to the name of Anxiety. Another passenger is afraid and believes that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain or a threat that someone is taking something away from them and that something must be protected. That passenger answers to the name of Fear.

Passenger Fear bonds with another passenger called Racism and together they form a friendship based on protecting themselves from a particular ethnic group, typically one that is a minority or marginalized.

The fourth passenger is afraid of being replaced with something else, especially something of the same kind that is newer, better, and different from what used to be. This passenger answers to the name of Change. The fifth passenger is all about getting power by stirring up people with conflicts and debates as to what is best for them. That passenger answers to the name Politician.

There are probably dozens of other dark characterizations that could occupy more seats on this bus, but these five: Anxiety, Fear, Racism, Change and Politician are enough right now. However, all is not dark because there is Light on this bus.

There is a passenger who is optimistic about expectations of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one’s life. That passenger’s name is Hope who stands on a solid rock. Another passenger believes that whatever we suffer, in the end, can be used for our ultimate good by trusting in God who cares. That passenger’s name is Trust.

There is someone aboard this bus who is full of confidence and conviction knowing that no matter the situation in our lives or someone else’s that God is working on it. That passenger’s name is Faith.

The fourth passenger to take a seat on the bus can best be described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-6: “Love is patient and kind, never jealous or envious, never boastful or proud, never haughty or selfish or rude. Love does not demand its own way. It is not irritable or touchy. It does not hold grudges and will hardly even notice when others do it wrong. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever truth wins out.”

All aboard this Struggle Bus are the Dark passengers named Anxiety, Fear, Racism, Change, and Politician and they are challenging the Light passengers named Hope, Trust, Faith, and Love. Surrounding all the passengers is the mighty fortress of our God. As that beloved hymn describes Him: “A mighty fortress is our God. A bulwark never failing; our helper He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing,”

Trust, Faith, and Love are standing on that same solid rock with Hope.

The past year and several months into this year have been trying, tiring, and challenging times for our Nation, the world, and the people in it. Back home in our backyard, we as a people have coped with our tragedies because of our Hope, Faith, Trust, and Love for our God and each other.

Of all the Dark passengers on the Struggle Bus, Fear, Racism, and Politics are still causing havoc. It is at your discretion whether you want to continue as a passenger or get off this bus.