Al's train set

A few years ago, I surprised Al with a small HO train set for Christmas. The Action Hobby shop on Main Street had the perfect one called the “Red Rock Express,” which came with a diesel locomotive, gondola, tanker, caboose and a circular track.

After several days of enjoyment, the train was put neatly away in its colorful box where it stayed for two years. Just before Christmas, I began thinking about having the toy train under the tree again. What it needed was more train track and some kind of train board. I called the same hobby shop and spoke to the owner.

“Well yes, I have more HO track here,” he said. “But, we’re closing on Friday.”

“You’re closing for good?” I asked, surprised.

“It’s time. I have to have back surgery and it just isn’t going to be possible to keep the store,” he replied.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“Me too. My wife and I are going to miss it. But you have to do what you have to do.”

“So, I guess I better come down before you close the store. By the way, do you have a train board or something we could use to raise the track off the floor?”

He advised me to buy a 3x5 piece of plywood for the train board and to set it on two sawhorses. There was only one problem — how to hide the board from Al.

The hobby shop was my first stop after dropping Al off at the gym. I ended up blindly buying several pieces of track, along with some other little accessories. A “Closing out Sale” sign was in the window. It was a sad day for the owner and his wife.

I thanked him, told him that I would be praying for him and headed out the door for Home Depot, my next stop. The large board barely fit into the back of our Ford Escape. Then it was time to pick up Al, who noticed it right away.             

“What’s this for?” he asked as he got in the car. “It looks like a board for a train!”

“It is for a project of mine after Christmas,” I answered vaguely.    

My initial plan was to put it together first in our spare bedroom where he wouldn’t see it. Then on Christmas Eve, after he had gone to bed, I would bring in the sawhorses and plywood, and set it up again in the living room. Well, the plan didn’t work, mainly because the “EZ snap” track pieces wouldn’t easily snap together! In fact, I couldn’t even make the original little circular track. The pieces seemed to have different ends which just wouldn’t go together no matter how hard I tried.

Finally, I gave away the “secret” and asked him for help. Not only did he put the whole thing together, he even used most of the extra pieces of track, making a longer oval which just fit on the plywood.  On Christmas morning, the little train was once more cheerily going around the track.    

Well dear readers, I am learning that it is important to ask for help. In the body of Christ, as in a marriage, things get done more easily when people work together, helping one another and using their gifts for the good of the whole body. Asking for help also works humility in one’s heart — a Christ-like quality.

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’” — 1Cor. 12:21 NIV  

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” — 1 Cor. 12:27 NIV

P.S.  Thank you to the owners of Action Hobby for their many years of good service to our community. They will be missed!


You can read more at Judy’s blog, goodnewswithjudy.blogspot.com.