72 | The Road to Lynchburg

Sometimes God leads us down roads we've never traveled before. Other times, He takes us back down roads we know by heart. 

In this episode, Richard reflects on a recent trip to Lynchburg, Virginia - a journey that unexpectedly began with a detour through Birmingham, Alabama. While the route from Columbus to Lynchburg has become familiar over the last thirteen years, the road from Birmingham to Lynchburg was one he hadn't traveled in a very long time. 

As the miles passed, so did memories. 

The familiar highways became a backdrop for reflecting on a pivotal season of life - one filled with both incredible highs and painful lows. Along the way, Richard found himself considering just how much God has done: in his relationship with the Lord, in his relationship with his children, and in the countless ways God's faithfulness has been evident through the years. Sometimes God intentionally brings us back to places we've been before - not to relive the past, but to help us see how far He has brought us. 

Maybe there's a road (our route) in your life that you've traveled before. A season, a memory, a place. What if God is inviting you to look back, not with regret, but with gratitude? 

Join us as we reflect on the roads behind us, the grace that carried us through them, and the faithfulness that continues to lead us forward.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:01

Welcome to Sermons on the Side. I'm Brad. And I'm Richard. And life can move pretty fast. So we're here to slow down, dig deep, and find the story hidden in everyday moments.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

With years spent in ministry, friendship, and navigating real life together, we're all about blending humor, honesty, and faith into conversations that meet you right where you are.

SPEAKER_04 0:24

So whether you're brand new or you're back for more, we are so glad you are here.

SPEAKER_02 0:30

So relax, listen in, and let's discover meaning together.

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In the ordinary, the messy, and everything in between.

SPEAKER_02 0:38

Sermons on the side. Finding meaning in the everyday.

SPEAKER_04 0:44

You know this. I bet you were driving with one hand and you were journaling with the other. You were like, Father God, eyes on the road, Rico. Eyes on the road.

SPEAKER_01 0:56

The people behind me were freaking out.

SPEAKER_04 0:58

No, seriously, but blended right in that element with driver.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

See, that's twice. Did you drink the coffee?

SPEAKER_04 1:09

If it's an element of the drivers twice. If it's once, I'll let it slide. But if it's twice, it's intentional.

SPEAKER_00 1:17

We got listeners.

SPEAKER_04 1:18

I think this I think this coffee does have caffeine in it. I apologize. I apologize to our Alabama listeners. You're not as bad of drivers as our Atlanta listeners. I got James Fernandez, baby! I'm about to get blood today. Here we are. I'm sitting across the table from the one, the only, Mr. Richard Moore. How are you, sir? I am good. Doing nicely, nicely.

SPEAKER_02 2:07

Nicely, nicely.

SPEAKER_04 2:08

We we were talking just before we went on air that uh this is like the last bit of energy that you have. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:14

So we're just hoping it lasts.

SPEAKER_04 2:15

Let's just go ahead and hit record and let's just go for it.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

So it's been a day, dude.

SPEAKER_04 2:20

The front part of this episode is gonna be lively.

SPEAKER_02 2:22

Okay, right. Yeah. Might lose them in the back. You just throw something at me if I if you need to wake me up from across the table, you know.

SPEAKER_04 2:31

Uh well, you look good. As crazy as maybe your weekend and day has been, you look good, dude.

SPEAKER_02 2:36

Bro, I appreciate it. I appreciate it. As do you. Thank you, sir. Looking spry.

SPEAKER_04 2:41

Yes, I had uh uh a couple of minutes to myself before we gathered this evening, which was which was great and very grateful for, and even got my little decaf coffee here.

SPEAKER_02 2:52

So yes, and and so maybe sometime we'll tell the listeners about that that whole decaf thing in the afternoon and evening. But uh but anyway, man, yeah, doing doing good, just uh did a quick uh weekend trip, uh visit to my kid, two kids in Lynchburg, Carly and Derek, and drove back today. Whoa, okay from Lynchburg to Columbus, Georgia, and here I sit, baby. Wow.

SPEAKER_04 3:20

Yeah, how long is that drive?

SPEAKER_02 3:22

That's about uh a nine-hour actual drive, but with stops and and lunch and maybe traffic in Atlanta. It can it can be a little more. It was 10 plus.

SPEAKER_04 3:34

10 plus, okay. All said and done, 10 plus all of your bathroom trips. I was thinking in my I was waiting for you to say 14.

SPEAKER_02 3:42

And there are many. So anyway, so listen, great trip, and and uh more on that actually later.

SPEAKER_04 3:52

Okay, well, hey, anyways, I'm just want to circle back. We had such an incredible response over the last couple of weeks for the last two episodes that we've had with Trey and Shelly Lovern. And um, man, our our hearts just continue to go out to them. Uh I we've been following along with with Trey's um care bridge, uh is it caring bridge post that he does for for Shelly's health updates? And um, anyways, just incredible folks, and uh they're fighting an incredible story right now.

SPEAKER_02 4:25

Yeah, it and and we mentioned before we love that they just gave us the green light, even in the midst of what they're going through. And I think that made it even more meaningful for our listeners and our listeners stepping up to to start following uh the the loverns in this journey, and also and I want to make sure everybody's aware that how how meaningful it was for Shelly, because she specifically let us know, or she she made a a post, how much she appreciated that we ended the interview with that song. And I I just wanted to shout it out because uh you know, I think those of us who aren't musicians, we just think that singers that are talented like yourselves and play an instrument that you can just make that happen. That was not an that was a thing, it took a minute, you know. You learned that song, and it sounds different on the radio than it does acoustic with a guitar, and but you did it and it came across so beautifully. And we heard so many people specifically say how moved they were by that, and most importantly, Shelly herself.

SPEAKER_04 5:36

Well, I think first of all, that's very encouraging, thank you. And um, most of all, I think any worship leader would tell you that it's it's a successful song if people don't think about the singer and don't think about the song but think about the savior. And so if at any point during that song people were resonating with the truth of that song or the power of Shelly's testimony and what's going on, then then that song did its job. I think it did.

SPEAKER_02 6:06

Oh, that's well said.

SPEAKER_04 6:07

Thank you, sir. Well, dude, I think we should dive straight in to this episode because look, you came in guns blazing, the episode that I thought we were recording, you said, nope, we're pulling a fast one, we're going in different directions. So what direction are we going in?

SPEAKER_02 6:24

I felt like the Lord just called an audible on us today. And uh, and listen, that cool episode we were gonna work on next time, whatever, we'll make it happen. But as I was driving home today, I felt the Lord just drop something on me. Okay, and it actually relates to this trip that I just had.

SPEAKER_03 6:43

All right.

SPEAKER_02 6:44

Okay, so I went up for the weekend to, as I said, to spend with Carly and my daughter and my son Derek in Lynchburg, Virginia.

SPEAKER_04 6:53

Little early Father's Day thing. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

And I said, you know what? I won't get a chance to see them for quite a while again. Okay. So let me just jump on. Oh, that's awesome. And uh, but I did it a little differently because I had to shoot over to Birmingham before heading up to Lynchburg.

SPEAKER_04 7:11

Whoa, everybody pull out your maps and go, that's not exactly on the way, brother.

SPEAKER_02 7:16

Exactly. But here's the thing my daughter Carly used to live in Birmingham, and she had a little bit of stuff that she had asked me next time I come to Lynchburg, can you bring it up? Oh, there you go. So I said, you know what? I'll swing through, get to see Pop and my sister Laura, and load up the the Kia Sorrenta.

SPEAKER_04 7:36

We want to see it in a Kia.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

You do, and you will, but anyway, so I I I hit Birmingham and headed to Virginia. Now, people might not know, but that I lived in Birmingham prior to moving to Columbus, Georgia.

SPEAKER_04 7:51

I was about to say, you you've burned the rubber from that Birmingham to Lynchburg pack. I mean, I bet I bet honestly, there's a fighting chance if I blindfolded you, you could do it. And maybe drive better than half of them Alabama drivers, anyways.

SPEAKER_02 8:06

Bro, thank you, thank you. And and here's the thing, man. And you just you're so sharp, you picked up on that's actually the impetus, the point of this sermon on the side, and why I wanted to tell this story in particular. Because I found myself uh on the way up there as I'm driving from Birmingham there. Now, you gotta remember, I've lived in Columbus for uh 13 years now. Wow, has it been that long?

SPEAKER_04 8:32

Yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_02 8:33

And so I'm telling you, all my trips to see my kids in that period of time have been from Columbus to Lynchburg. It's a totally different road, of course. Or you know, route. Do you say route or route? I mean, let's just let's have this conversation.

SPEAKER_04 8:51

Let's just kind of camp out here for a second. Yeah, I think we need time. Um I say, I say route when I'm naming um like a specific one, okay? And what I mean by that is if I'm saying it's route 66, it's route 1520, it's route one, two, three, four, or whatever it is, okay? But if I'm generally speaking about a route, that's the you know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_02 9:16

See, no, that does make sense because I was actually struggling with that today, because I say route all the time, but occasionally it kind of surprises you.

SPEAKER_04 9:27

You're like, whoa, where did that come from?

SPEAKER_02 9:29

Now, do you think that is is that a southern, northern, eastern, western, a uh state thing or vernacular?

SPEAKER_04 9:36

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 9:37

I don't know. We need to hear from somebody, let's say our friend Larry.

SPEAKER_04 9:41

We need to hear from Larry from New Orleans.

SPEAKER_02 9:42

I mean, he's a Cajun. He's all but see, here's the thing. Our okay, so our you referenced Route 1520, which is the name of our recovery community for men that we're a part of. And uh, so that's very natural. Route 1520. Well, but maybe in other contexts, people would say route. I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 10:05

Well, I don't know, the famous Route 66 that you know, if someone says Route 66, I'm going, first of all, you're not American, so you can not talk about that. You know, but I don't know. I'm just saying Hey, since we're camped out on this story, I gotta ask you, you you dropped a little 13-year bomb on us right there for but uh for for Columbus. Can you just rank real fast top five cities of length of lived? I just want to know where Columbus is on the list.

SPEAKER_01 10:34

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 10:34

Top five. Now this is off the bat.

SPEAKER_02 10:36

No, no, this is great. All right, so here's the list. Okay, I need to. Number one, I lived in Poughkeepsie, New York for 15 years.

SPEAKER_04 10:44

15? 15. If 15's number one, coach, Columbus got to be a number two spot.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

From 1995 to 2010, I was in Poughkeepsie, New York. All right.

SPEAKER_04 10:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:57

Second, Columbus, Georgia is 13. Number two. That's not bad.

SPEAKER_04 11:03

That's an active streak, by the way, ladies and gentlemen. We're coming for that number one spot.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Won't be long. Won't be long. Won't be long. You're gonna overtake it.

SPEAKER_04 11:10

I just only 600 more episodes of sermons on the side. Wait, wait, no, that would be every day. We only need sorry.

SPEAKER_02 11:20

Columbus is number two.

SPEAKER_04 11:21

That's where's Birmingham on this?

SPEAKER_02 11:23

Birmingham is probably could be number three. There was a town in Mississippi that I lived in, I think the same amount of years that I lived in in Birmingham. And then it's a bunch of twosies, threesies, and foursies, other than that. So, yeah, that's great. That's awesome. That's a question. All right. The people needed to know this information, did they not?

SPEAKER_04 11:45

They did. So you left your second longest tenured city. You drove to your third longest tenured city, you're now on a route to Lynchburg, Virginia. Exactly. And that is called a professional circle back. Time in on the Sermon of the Side. Boom.

SPEAKER_01 12:06

But that route that you mentioned.

SPEAKER_02 12:09

I'm sorry. No, that that particular way that I would always go from Birmingham to Lynchburg, it was just, it occurred to me as I was on the way up there for this visit. I haven't been on this interstate in years. In 13. Pretty much. It might have happened another time, but seriously, it was the way. It was like I could do it blindfolded for so many years. And and then now I'm like, whoa. And I I was memories were just popping.

SPEAKER_04 12:42

Oh, I've been. You feel me? Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

I was like, I remember that stretch road. I remember that exit. Because that's an exit that the kids would love to. Because see, sometimes on these trips from Birmingham to Lynchburg, sometimes I'd be just going up to see the kids and driving back. But many times they're in the car with me because I went and got them for a long stay, or I'm taking them home, or something like that. Yeah. That makes sense, right?

SPEAKER_04 13:10

Chick-fil-A has the best playground and that gas station has the best bathrooms deserted. Right.

SPEAKER_02 13:15

And don't go to that one, please. You know, anyway, knew all the things to avoid and what and what to hit. But I'm and and look, I'm the sentimental dude. You know this.

SPEAKER_04 13:26

You remember that you were driving with one hand and you were journaling with the other. You were like, Father God, it's on the road, Rico. It's on the road.

SPEAKER_02 13:35

The people behind me were freaking out.

SPEAKER_04 13:37

Not seriously, but blended right in that element.

SPEAKER_01 13:41

See, that's twice.

SPEAKER_04 13:48

If it's element of a drivers twice, if it's once, I'll let it slide. But if it's twice, it's intentional.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

We got listeners.

SPEAKER_04 13:58

I think this I think this coffee does have caffeine in it. I apologize. I apologize to our Alabama listeners. You're not as bad of drivers as our Atlanta listeners. I got Jenks for Dennies, baby. I'm out to get blood today.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

The hole is getting dug deeper and deeper. Okay, so anyway, I'm in this memory-sential mode, which is kind of a thing for me. And but you know, it's the way God made me nothing to it. But what I do, what I realized is I was putting two and two together and remembering that all these uh all these different things about this particular route uh up there to Virginia, and I realized this is a thing I do with a lot of stuff in my life, including, but not limited to, but including roads and highways and interstates, you know, especially if you like in the situation I was in, living in Birmingham, my kids are up there, and I'm wearing that that that interstate out. But I connect, I like like physical natural things in my life represent stuff, represent feelings and thoughts and important moments in my life. So I'm sitting here going, all those trips that I took on this, these very roads represent a period of time in my life. And it was not a really easy time.

SPEAKER_03 15:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

Now I want you to know when it was me and the kids in that car, bro, it was a party.

SPEAKER_04 15:40

Oh, yeah, dude. Can you imagine? Miley Cyrus just partying the USA. Oh, you're right. Dude, just guns blazing.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

And you know, it's it's it's not about how fast I get there or what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb. See, you brought up you brought up Miley. I thought, should I change it?

SPEAKER_04 15:59

I didn't get it until you got that last part, and I saw the twinkle in your eye.

SPEAKER_02 16:04

But seriously, hey, when the kids were with me, oh, brother, it was so much fun. And I was I was remembering some of that of how much I enjoyed that time. But I couldn't not remember. I couldn't, I haven't forgotten how difficult some of those miles were.

SPEAKER_04 16:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 16:20

Because I was driving to see them, which I was looking forward to do. But I was also that just represent, you know, driving those miles represented the crazy situation we were all in. Yeah. That that that the reality of the separation. Thank you. The reality of the separation, which had come about because of the the divorce, which took place because of my addiction and all the all the wrong decisions of my life. And the and and even though during those years that I'm making all those trips, God was doing amazing things internally, and he was bringing a lot of healing and a lot of growth. But it was still these miles represented a hard reality. And so when I would be in, if the kids are in the car, I'm having a good time. When I'm by myself, it was tough. It was uh I did not look forward to those those miles, but that's that's what was all swirling in my mind just a few days ago as I'm driving up to see my kids. And I remembered all those those pleasant memories, all the difficult stuff, and all the good that God was trying to work and build and pour into me that I didn't see and realize fully at the time. And I wanted to bring up that idea and that concept because we all travel roads during the different seasons of our lives, and sometimes those roads are pleasant, but sometimes they're painful. Sometimes they might be comforting, or they might be confusing. Or they might be, as it was with me, a weird mix of both. Healing almost. And and well, like that was that was happening. See, I look back on that now and I see that it was happening, but at the moment, it was pretty overwhelming. And I don't know that I recognized that the that the good stuff was building and that the healing was coming.

SPEAKER_04 18:36

Well, I was talking about even maybe today. Maybe today is when that healing sort of either comes full circle or fully starts taking place, or or or the realization of it begins to take root because you know it's hard to see growth when you're staring at the plant. But when you leave and you come back and and and you're reminded maybe by some of these familiar, if we're going to with this, you know, analogy, these roads, yeah, that's when we get to see, my goodness, there there has been a lot of change in a beautiful way.

SPEAKER_02 19:09

That's so good, that's so good. And I think about our listeners as we might try to process this concept, and we might think about something as simple as a commute, whatever our commute is to work every day. Because sometimes that road might represent what this a season of time you're in right now, and you're going to work at a job where you're not sure what the future is of that job. Or maybe you're maybe you have some sadness or some regret that you're not at a different job or something like that. And that road could literally represent some of that difficulty for you. And if you are in those times, I believe there's hope for us. Because as followers of Christ, the promise is we don't travel our paths, we don't drive our roads alone. And one thing, and I'm not saying I did it all right over those all those years and all those miles, but one thing I kind of got a little bit better at, and something I learned along the way, is that whatever the thought, the regret, the the good thought, the happy thought, the sad thought, whatever it might be that I would experience when I was driving that road, which represented this path that my life was on, whatever it was, I brought God into that conversation. I learned how to bring God into the conversation. And I might be angry, I might be totally ate up with fear and uncertainty about the future. But I learned gradually that when I started feeling that, and I'm wrestling with it, and I might even be tears might be coming down my face, I might be angry and kind of mad and speaking and screaming stuff out in the car alone. Whatever it was, I learned to start asking God, okay, God, just let me know you're with me. I don't want to be alone. What do you want to show me? What do you want to say to me? Is there something you want to show me on this road that in this moment I wish I wasn't on? Or maybe it's a good path and I'm happy about it, but I might be a little nervous like, do I really belong here? Do I really deserve this? Is something bad gonna happen to take me off this road that I enjoy being on? Whatever it is, bring God into that conversation and say, God, this is what I'm thinking, this is what I'm feeling, this is what I'm remembering. What do you have to say, and what do you say?

SPEAKER_04 22:00

What I love that is is you're practicing honesty before the throne.

unknown 22:04

Dude.

SPEAKER_04 22:05

And so many times, I know in my own life, and I feel like if we're being honest with ourselves, and in all of our lives, we feel like we have to have this answer to our theological issue before we present it to the Lord. That's a trap. We have to have this prayer figured out and perfectly worded before we invite God into our prayer. And what you're describing is a messy situation, a messy mindset, a messy road, no answers, more questions than that, and just quite frankly, just hurt in different ways. And the first thing you do is, God, here is all of that. What do you want me to see? What do you want me to feel? What do you want me to experience? And man, if we can start, holy moly, practicing honesty before the throne, then all of a sudden our path, the road that we're on, becomes a little bit more clear.

SPEAKER_02 23:06

It it does, and and more doable and less overwhelming. And oh, that's good. All right. Now, listen, before we kind of steer towards the end of the sermon on the side, I want to do a little uh thought exercise with you as it relates to Bible related stories and references. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 23:26

Get a little swig of coffee before doing a Bible exercise. Hey, can I get a get you one of those cough drops in?

SPEAKER_02 23:34

I know how much you love that. Okay, so uh the exercise is let's talk off the top of our head, different road vibes from the Bible. Like a story or reference the road to Damascus. Oh, for uh the Saul.

SPEAKER_04 23:54

Yeah, yeah, when Saul gets turned to Paul. Yes, yeah, the blinding light.

SPEAKER_02 24:00

Imagine what Paul would have to say about that road.

SPEAKER_04 24:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 24:06

Road he did not ever expect that to happen, but oh, that's a great one. That's a great one.

SPEAKER_04 24:11

The other one, yeah. You think of road to Damascus, the other one's uh the road to uh Emmaus.

SPEAKER_02 24:17

Oh, yes. The two guys after Jesus has been, but they don't know he's been resurrected.

SPEAKER_04 24:24

And they're just we're just wild. He's just walking with Jesus, talking about Jesus to Jesus. Like, hey guys, what are you talking about? You know, anyway. And then Jesus goes and explains everything to them, and you're just like, golly, they got seminary in a night.

SPEAKER_02 24:38

Oh, that is that is a good one. Um, how about how about that? Now, this is one a little more obscure, but it's in Psalm 84, one of my favorite psalms, has some great verses, real famous verses found in Psalm 84. You guys go check it out. But it does it the writer of that psalm uses a road trip as kind of the uh setting, and he's talking about the road trip that the pilgrimage that people used to make at least once a year from all over Israel to Jerusalem. And specifically to Mount Zion, which was a particular spot in the holy city of Jerusalem. And he he he just talks about the different uh aspects of life that play out as if our whole life was a road trip towards the Lord. It's a great song. Okay, but here's verse five of that psalm says Blessed are those in whose hearts is the highway to Zion.

SPEAKER_04 25:38

Oh in their hearts is the highway to Zion. Is the the road oh well that maybe that makes me think of Matthew 7? Okay broad is the road that leads to destruction, yes, but narrow is the road that leads to life.

SPEAKER_02 25:56

Oh, baby. Hey, and can we just be can we can I tell you the the most bodacious road reference?

SPEAKER_04 26:04

Your vocabulary is on point tonight. Give me the bodacious uh reference.

SPEAKER_02 26:11

Jesus himself, he didn't say find a road that leads to me. Jesus said, I am the road.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

What? I am the way, the truth, and the life.

SPEAKER_04 26:30

And nobody gets to the Father except through me.

SPEAKER_02 26:36

Oh my Jesus. He wasn't just talking about a philosophy. When they heard that, they thought, road, path, root, route. That's what they knew. He was saying, I'm the way. And the New Testament uh believers, before they started calling them Christians within that first century, you know what their phrase the phrase was when they referred to them?

SPEAKER_04 26:59

Christ followers.

SPEAKER_02 27:01

The followers. And sometimes they would literally call them followers of the way.

SPEAKER_04 27:08

Dude, we're gonna there's so many other road references. We need to hear from you guys. What are some of y'all's favorite road references all throughout scripture?

SPEAKER_02 27:18

Can I ask you a question off the top of your head? What do you think is my personal favorite road? Now, the Jesus being the road, that's obviously the best. But other than that, what do you think is my favorite Bible road story?

SPEAKER_04 27:34

I would I would imagine that the road also was uh potentially named a path. And it was it was the road that the prodigal returned home on.

unknown 27:43

Yes!

SPEAKER_02 27:45

Yes, oh the the route. The root route 1520, Luke chapter 15, verse 20 where he arose and returned to his father. So that's the beautiful thing. Now listen, I have one last thing before to just end the sermons on the side. Okay. Okay. Uh actually two last things. Recap what I've learned from traveling the roads I've been on. Whether I wanted to be on them or not, is feel all the feels. Whatever they are. Just feel them. Don't stuff them, don't avoid them. Tell God all of it. Ask him what he wants to say and what he wants to show you. And remember that there is purpose in it all every mile. So stay on the road. Log the miles. Don't ditch the path. Stay on the road. And this is, I promise, we're about to end. Okay? The last thing I need to tell you. And this is where it happened today, and this is where the Lord told me uh to pause on that other one for us as well. So now, on the way home today, I'm coming straight from Lynchburg to Columbus, the well-worn path.

SPEAKER_01 29:09

Of the last 13 years. Yes.

SPEAKER_02 29:12

But there were many times that one or all or two or all three of my kids were in the car with me on this path as well. Now, my daughter Carly and I, we have a particular favorite stop exit in South Carolina. Shout out to uh Justin Keck, our South and any other South Carolina listeners. And it's uh it's uh it's this one exit. We just love the QT gas station and convenience store there. Carly and I, we used to go in there and get a Snapple. Love Snapple. They don't sell Snapple anymore. I found that out today. Anyway, also there's a Starbucks right there. We would stop and grab some caffeine, whatever. So I said, you know what? For old time's sake, I didn't even need gas. But I said, I'm gonna pull off of that on, and then I'm gonna text Carly and tell her about it. I forgot to do that, by the way. So as I'm getting on the on the uh off ramp, I get a call from Derek, my son. Now, Derek, we're not gonna get into the whole story, but we're gonna have him tell the story one day. Back in 2020 and 2021, diagnosed with uh leukemia. Went through a really difficult uh process of you know, the whole chemo and and then a stem cell transplant. Um, but God did miracles and he's blessed him, and he's been just getting stronger and healthier, and and life has been great for him in the years since. He had an appointment today. It was uh it was his uh he has to go twice a year. And he used to have to go once a month, but now it's twice a year. And at this uh visit today, they told him, well, you don't only have to come once a year now. So it's just everything's going good, right? So I had texted him uh earlier at the gas stop, and I'd said when I'd gotten gas, and I said, Hey man, how did the appointment go today? So he calls me back just as I'm pulling up the Duncan, South Carolina exit. And he said, Man, it went great. It went great. And I said, Okay, they tell you anything good? He said, he said, yeah, they said that since they're not gonna see me again for another year, they wanted to, I mean, and this is hours long, test after test, and they run them off, right? And what they told him today, he said, he said, this is right at the five-year mark. And they said everything is better than they could have ever expected it to be. And he said, they told me today, I'm cured. I'm cured. I'm like, is that the word they used? He said, yeah. Quote unquote, I am cured. Now I've known he's doing great for several years now, but I thought that was it. It was like the official statement.

SPEAKER_04 32:06

Right.

SPEAKER_02 32:07

You know what I mean? You know what I mean? And then he's telling me all this as I'm pulling into that to that convenience store. And I'm walking around the convenience store after I hang up with him and finish the conversation, and I'm just like, God, you're so good. And and and he just dropped that on me today. And and it made me think about all this conversation, about all the miles, all the uncertain miles, or the sad miles, the happy ones too, all the craziness and the twists and turns in all of our stories. See, this is why I say stay on the road, log the miles, do not ditch the path. Trust there's purpose in it. God is with you, and he's gonna get you and everybody you care about to the right place. So hang on. It doesn't matter how long it takes, never give up and keep driving.

SPEAKER_01 33:10

So there we go, man. Wow. God is good. Amen.

SPEAKER_02 33:16

All right, brother.

SPEAKER_04 33:18

Well, I've got a uh I've got a uh little segment here for us.

SPEAKER_02 33:23

You are segment man.

SPEAKER_04 33:24

I'm segment man. So I texted, I think I texted you like what? This was a couple of weeks ago. Yeah. I was like, hey, I got a segment. I'm just kind of stashing away. Just remind me, Chick-fil-A and me in high school.

unknown 33:35

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 33:36

And you were like, all right. And so we're anyway, that's tonight. So you don't know this, but I've never heard the story. I'm dying. This is a little embarrassing. I don't know if I've ever really told anybody this.

SPEAKER_02 33:45

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_04 33:46

So I worked at Chick-fil-A um for a number of years, actually. Um, it was actually my very first job that I got in high school, like official job. And so the last couple of years of high school, I was working just super part-time, just you know, maybe 20, 30 hours a week after school, whatever, weekends. And, you know, when you when when you get senior year and you, you know, that first year of college, that kind of transition time, it's time for you to step up and to take care of some other household chores, you know. And so, like when I started working at Chick-fil-A, my mom was like, All right, you're in charge of your own laundry now, you know.

SPEAKER_01 34:20

Oh, okay. Well, that's a thing.

SPEAKER_04 34:22

Well, because then I had you know, I had a uniform, I was getting dirty, I was in the back, I was dealing with chicken, you know, and so you know, I'd would almost do like a little separate load just for my stuff. Anyways, so but I enjoyed it, you know. I enjoyed doing my own laundry. And uh, dude, I did it for years. I did it for years. And uh towards the end of my first stint of chick working at Chick-fil-A, which is about a two-year stint, um, I was in the laundry room and I was throwing my uniforms, it was just my uniforms in the washer. There, you know, and again, I worked in the back. I worked with raw chicken, the coating, you know, the whole nine yards. And my mom happened to be like just kind of passing either in or out of the of the laundry room about the time that I was loading it up, and I poured the um, I poured, you know, what you pour in there, and and and um, I closed it up and I started to walk out. And my mom goes, Oh, hey, you forgot the detergent. And I went, what? She goes, You only put fabric softener in there. You totally forgot the detergent. I went, Oh, oh yeah, my my bad.

SPEAKER_06 35:36

Brother, for two years not watched. I didn't even know what the memory's not gonna be. You put it in.

SPEAKER_05 36:16

It comes out smelling good. Bro, I promise you that is a true story. Oh god, I need to catch my breath.

SPEAKER_04 36:27

Oh so if we have any young listeners out there that are starting their adulting, please know that there's two different things. One is detergent with soap, and one is fabric softener. And it made you know what we we just moved, we we got our washer and dryer set, and we're we actually changed up our detergent and fabric softener just to get some dog, you know, just a better dog odor fighter, you know, whatever. Anyways, and it made me think about that. I was like, man, that's why you texted me when you're two years of cleaning a chickful uniform.

SPEAKER_02 37:11

I can't thank you enough. And our listeners needed that so bad.

SPEAKER_04 37:16

You know, uh that's what is podcasting but self-deprecating. I hope you guys have a wonderful path and a wonderful road this week. And uh, Richard, thank you, man. I hope you get some divine rest tonight, Mr. Road Traveler.

SPEAKER_02 37:33

Yes, sir. I appreciate it, but uh, every mile is blessed, brother.

SPEAKER_04 37:37

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 37:38

Every mile. Hey, thank you for going along this journey and everybody giving us a few extra minutes to tell the story and share the laughs and uh and the encouragement. So blessings on you, my brother.

SPEAKER_04 37:51

All right. Well, you guys have an awesome week, and we will see you again next week for another episode of Sermons on the Side. And we had bumped our time back a little bit. So all of a sudden I've got Coach Ad 45 minutes. What's that? You never know.

SPEAKER_02 38:17

45 minutes of free time.

SPEAKER_04 38:19

So I went to a little coffee shop, sat down. This is a white chocolate mocha decaf. Because, brother, let me tell you this.

SPEAKER_01 38:32

Talk to me.

SPEAKER_04 38:33

If this was caffeinated, I'd be awake until launch day. Okay? I'd be awake until Thursday.

SPEAKER_02 38:39

I did not, I would never had this conversation.

SPEAKER_04 38:42

If I have caffeine post like noon, I have a massive headache in the afternoon. I feel like death. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 38:52

No, I didn't know that. Yeah, that's not.

SPEAKER_04 38:54

Anyways, but that made me think about this one. I saw a video. This is such an off topic. Maybe this does have caffeine in it because I'm wired right now. There's a lady in a hospital bed, clearly like giving birth, but she's not actively giving birth. She's just laying in a hospital. And the and the point of view from the camera is like of the husband laying on the couch. Yeah. The lights are dim and she's just waiting. You know, but you you don't even see her face. You just see like the back of her head, and then she's just, you know, the lights are dim. It's probably 3 a.m. Vincent. Finally, my wife understands what it's like to have a cold.

SPEAKER_06 39:35

Horrible!

SPEAKER_05 39:37

Horrible!

SPEAKER_06 39:38

But you know, like the whole like when a husband gets a cold and he's just like cataclysmic, right? Call the morgue. Will we pull through?

SPEAKER_04 39:49

Oh gosh. Anyways, that would be me if I had a coffee before noon. I mean afternoon.