Every Sunday, wife Martha — The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage — and I go across town for our ministry at an assisted living facility.
We’ve been doing this for about four years now. It’s a ministry we thoroughly enjoy.
Martha always drives her “Sissy Van” because she really doesn’t like riding in my pickup truck. I don’t blame her, so I let her drive across town.
I’m not too fond of riding in her van, but I have no other choice. Getting in and out is quite the task.
The traffic was horrible last week as we were going across town. I couldn’t remember when Sunday traffic was that bad. It seemed like we were bumper-to-bumper all the way.
I thought where have these cars come from? And why are they on the road on Sunday?
This week, as we were driving across town, I thought about something from back in the day. We had quite a few Amish in the Pennsylvania community where I grew up.
Among the significant things about the Amish is their mode of transportation is horse-andbuggy. I rode with an Amish friend in his buggy all the time.
Thinking about the horseand-buggy community, I realized accidents were very few. In fact, I can’t remember a single one involving a buggy.
And maintaining a horse with a buggy to get around is far cheaper than a car. Gas for a car is a lot more expensive than the oats and hay to fee a horse for its power.
As we were traveling across town, I looked at my wife and said, “Maybe we should get a horse-and-buggy instead of this Sissy Van.”
She looked at me, then said, “Neeeeeigh,” imitating a horse.
I didn’t mention it again because I understood exactly what she was saying. I’m not going to nag her about that.
It was rather warm that day, and Martha turned on the air conditioner and said, “I like air conditioning, don’t you?”
As I enjoyed the air conditioning, I understood exactly what she meant. I’ve ridden in several buggies and not one of them had air conditioning. In fact, riding down the road, I was exposed to the weather all around me. Sometimes it was a sweating experience.
Even though the van is not my favorite mode of travel, I must confess it has advantages I should learn to appreciate. I thought long and hard about that, then turned to Martha and said, “I must confess that I really do enjoy your Sissy Van.”
She looked at me, then chuckled and replied, “I don’t know if you’re telling me a joke or setting me up for one of your pranks.”
A verse of scripture along those lines came to mind.
“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5: 11
One of the great things in life as a Christian is appreciating others, not because you agree with everything they do. Finding something to appreciate in everyone’s life is a challenge sometimes. I focus on that one area I appreciate since not everything matters.
Dr. Snyder is a former pastor who lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha, in Ocala, Fla. Email him at jamessnyder5’@gmail.com.
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