Sometimes, it’s easy not to feel like you are enough, or could provide enough. Things are more expensive, and as a man, I can easily view myself by my ability to deal with material challenges. Can I afford this? Can I provide that? Even as a single person, the thought of rising home costs worry me. I might find someone I’d want to build a home with some day.

This fear has often influenced me. It often forces me to have a work ethic much in excess of what I normally could muster. But I remember driving home one day and meeting someone who entirely shifted my perspective.

I was driving my truck down a country road, and noticed four figures on the side of the road, hiking. I passed them by, but decided to go back and see if they were alright.

Their car had broken down. Non-refundable plane tickets turned out to be useless when the oldest kid, at eighteen, didn’t have an ID. So the family of four decided to walk home. From Florida. To Colorado.

They had backpacks, and hitched a few short rides, but said they mostly walked. The thing that struck me about them was how calm they were. They could have been freaking out, and panicing. Or complaining bitterly. But instead, they just kept walking. I soon figured why. The father was calm. He even joked that they would have a great story to tell from it. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had inner turmoil he didn’t reveal, but all in all he simply led his family, one step at a time, in the right direction. He didn’t give into fear. He simply stated they were Christians, they didn’t ask for rides, but were willing to accept them when offered.

I can think to myself a thousand critiques of how he might have possible kept the chain of events from unfolding through preparation, or foresight. But the reality was that he was doing exactly what he needed to be doing in that particular situation. Leading his family, calmly and surely, one step at a time closer to where they needed to go. I’ve never felt poorer.