Hugs

I expect most people don't automatically think of hugs when thinking about truck drivers.  We specialize in hugs in our ministry.  Many of our visitors receive hugs when they arrive and/or when they depart the chapel.  For me hugs are a spontaneous thing.  I don't go through some mental exercise for each visitor to decide if I will hug them or not - it just automatically happens, or not.

Very few people I have met in my life have shared with me that they are uncomfortable with hugs.  Such folks are definitely in the minority.

For almost a year driver Carl visited our chapel once or twice each week.  He was on a dedicated run.  That means he drove the same route every week beginning and ending at his home in Ohio.  Carl and I got to fellowship enough to become good friends.  Then, as happens in the trucking business, Carl was told that he was to be changed to another route.

Carl had shared with me about his childhood which had largely been lacking in verbal or physical expressions of love.  He had also shared about his very difficult marriage to a woman involved in a corrupt form of religion that left him, as a Christian, excluded from much of the normal marriage fellowship opportunities.

During our last visit, while sharing a meal together, Carl told me, "I'm going to miss the hugs.  This is the only place I get hugs."  I had no idea...

Have you hugged anyone today?  Make sure you do!

In His name,
Chaplain Sam Houchins