What’s in a day’s work?
By: Craig Maart
The life of a TFC Global Chaplain is an adventure. There are often divine appointments sent from God to our chaplains. Therefore, our chaplains must be ready for everything on any given day. They must be in tune with the Holy Spirit to recognize God’s leading in a “still small voice” or in the chaos of a crisis. The work of a chaplain is never done, and the spiritual responsibility to God and the people we interact with is a big deal. People’s lives are important, and eternity hangs in the balance based on a decision to accept or reject Jesus as their Savior.
I want to share two stories from our chaplains that show these divine appointments and the impact TFC Global chaplains are making.
A driver stopped to talk to one of our chaplains. This driver shared how the extended time on the road and away from home had chipped away at his marriage. It was a mess. Instead of cutting the guy off and offering to pray for him and send him on his way, our chaplain kept listening. TFC Global chaplains are trained in counseling principles. Key statements to make as an active listener are, “Tell me more” or “Help me understand”. These statements allowed this driver to open up and share why things were so bad in his marriage. It ended up that the driver was unfaithful to his wife while out on the road, tried to hide it, and things got out of control. The good news is the driver lived close enough to our chaplain, so he was able to continue counseling this man and include his wife. Our chaplain got the couple together, talked with the wife separately, and then got them back together again. This is excellent follow-up and care, which is a key ingredient in our chaplaincy “secret sauce”. All in all, our chaplain spent more than eight hours with this couple over the course of days. The results for this couple are still pending, but hard work was done. There is a personal connection to our chaplain for more help as needed. So good.
The other story comes from the impact one of our chaplains is making in the two trucking companies he serves. We customize in-person services to what a company desires in addition to on-call services. In some companies, the on-site presence of a TFC Global Chaplain is less than once a week. Well, this is obviously not enough. This chaplain told me employees from both companies have been asking to see him more often. “This once a week or less is not cutting it. It is not enough”. This is a good thing, as it shows the effectiveness of our chaplain and the desire people have for chaplaincy services. Now I am talking to the owners of these two companies to see about getting this chaplain on site and available to employees more often. This is good stuff.
I hope these stories help you see the real situations and people our chaplains interact with every day. The world is getting darker, and evil doesn’t even try to hide anymore. That is why we need to be the light of God that shines in the darkness. TFC Global chaplains rely on God, pray in advance of these divine appointments, get trained, and work hard to be as prepared as possible for all that is in a day’s work.
Thank you for giving to support TFC Global. Because of you, we can share these stories in a beautiful full-color glossy magazine like this. Because of you, stories will keep coming to show the transformational work of God in the trucking community.
