What Are the Odds? (09/16/2026)

Last week, as I’ve mentioned, I was in Sioux City, Iowa. I don’t really like road trips like that (nearly 500 miles one way when I factor in picking up my navigator). I plan stops every 75 to 100 miles to get out, walk around, use the restroom, get a fresh drink, etc. I know it adds to the length of the trip, but it keeps me sharp on the drive. One of the other things I like about this routine is that I meet the most interesting people – fellow travelers on the journey.

On the return trip last weekend, we made our final stop at Kwik Trip in Barneveld. I was weary from being in the car 7 hours already, so I wasn’t in a hurry to hop back in and buckle up. I was standing outside the store, taking in the view and watching the busyness of the travelers and patrons of the local Kwik Trip. I saw a man walking toward me. I smiled. He said, “I hope you’re having a wonderful day.” Then he went in the store. I thought to myself that I liked that man’s approach to life and encountering the unexpected. I was still stretching my legs when he came out less than 5 minutes later.

As he approached me, I just said, “So where are you from? Is Barneveld your hometown?” He stopped and answered me. Then we got into quite a conversation. He told me his hometown and his profession then he mentioned he was working on a job in my hometown, Lake Mills. I asked where. He told me, and I asked if he was working for a friend of mine who is a contractor. He was amazed that I knew the job site and his boss. Then we spent a couple more minutes in conversation before wishing each other farewell and safe travels.

When I got in the car, my oldest daughter and navigator asked me who I’d encountered. And I told her the whole story. And she asked, “What are the odds that you two would meet in Barneveld?” She had a terrific point. And in an instance, I got the feeling that the LORD was up to something, but it may take me years to understand. And I was okay with that.

That night, as I sat on my porch and thanked the LORD profusely and earnestly for safe travel, for good roads, for an A+ navigator and companion on the journey, I also thanked the LORD for the ray of sunshine in the man I met at Barneveld. He reminded me that we are meant to companion one another on “the Way.” And in his way, he did just that. Standing there, outside a convenience store in a town where I didn’t really know anyone, someone “saw me” and reached out to me even if it was only a sentence – a welcoming sentence.

The more I thought about it, I realized why he had made such an impression on me. He did to me what I do all the time – he talked to me even though he didn’t know me – who I was or what I was doing there. I think he shares my philosophy – the journey is meant to be shared, and we are meant to be there for one another along the way.

As we continue our journeys of faith, let us see those around us, and let us offer a word of encouragement for heaven knows, it can be a long and lonely road.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.