by Denny Hook

I’ve never really had a hobby. Most of my spare time is spent doing projects around the house. Whether it’s remodeling, repairing or maintaining, I enjoy the challenge and satisfaction of “Doing it Myself”. I can do most repairs and maintenance on our cars that doesn’t require expensive high-tech tools. The one thing about projects is that they are usually short term. This can be frustrating if you never quite complete them before moving on to the next one. Your mind is never at rest until you go back and finish what you started. Before long, your free time can become controlled by the “have to do’s”.

A hobby, on the other hand, is something you “get to do”. It can be anything you enjoy doing that is relaxing and let’s you escape from the pressures of the “have to do’s”.  Last Fall Lucy mentioned that I should get a hobby. When my oldest son was about ten, we built a small train layout in our basement. It was fun while it lasted, but that was thirty years ago. I’ve always been fascinated by model trains, and Lucy suggested that I join the local model railroad club; so, I did. Things have really changed over the years, and I had a lot to learn about all the new technology. Like television, gone are the days of analog, because trains have become digital too. Locomotives now have micro processors called decoders by which you can program all kinds of options, especially if they are sound equipped. Now the track has constant AC power and the locomotive is controlled by a remote throttle. Several trains can run at the same time at different speeds and directions. Not that you would want to, but it’s possible to have two trains collide head on. I’ve had to learn all the new terminology and what it means. Things like: DCC, LED lighting and resistors, function buttons, programming CV’s, dynamic braking, momentum, horn signals, doppler effect, 28/128 speed steps, current keepers, short and long address, SPROG, speed matching and consists.

I bought my first locomotive back in November, and now have ten. I’m running the Great Northern Railroad line featuring diesel locomotives popular in the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s. I’m currently in the process of speed matching my locomotives so I can run them in a “consist”. A consist is multiple locomotives hooked together so you can pull a longer train. The trick is to get them speed matched so they all pull in unison in the same direction. If you don’t, one may be spinning the wheels while dragging or pushing the slower one. This can eventually damage a motor or gears. Speed matching is done by running each locomotive through a speedometer on the track which displays the speed digitally in scale miles per hour. You record each forward and reverse pass at various throttle positions, then adjust their decoder voltage on the separate SPROG computer programming track. It can take up to an hour per locomotive involving several tweaks, but you can get them almost perfectly matched within .5 mph.

As a child I remember reading the story book of “The Little Engine That Could”. It was about a small steam engine who had to pull a heavy load up and over a steep hill. He starts out slowly building up speed and saying, “I think I can, I think I can”. As he climbs the grade, he works harder and harder to pull the load. His speed drops to a crawl with his boiler about to burst. He’s wondering if he’ll make it to the top without spinning out and rolling back down the hill. He keeps saying over and over, “I think I can, I think I can”. The top is nearing and he’s almost there. At last he’s over the top, and as he rolls easily down the other side he’s saying, “I knew I could, I knew I could”.

Life is like the analogy of that little engine. We all start out thinking we can, but sometimes the load gets heavier and heavier and harder to pull. It’s like just when things seem to be going along okay, suddenly out of nowhere more cars are added to our train. We struggle to keep moving forward under the heavy load. Our “think I can” can turn into uncertainty, doubt or even despair. If Heaven is the top of the hill, so to speak, none of us can make it there by our own efforts and strength. The weight of our “sin train” pulls us backward. Good intentions, positive confessions and will power can never get us into Heaven. In Matthew 11:28 Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are weary and heavy burdened, and I will give you rest”. The rest Jesus wants to give us is spiritual and eternal. He just says, “Come and join in a consist with me, because I alone have the power and am the only way you’ll make it to the top.” When we invite Jesus into our lives to save us, it’s amazing how the heavy load we’ve been pulling is uncoupled and cut loose. However, there are still some things we need to uncouple ourselves. As it says in Hebrews 12:1; “Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us.” For some it may be that unforgiveness you are holding onto which has made you bitter, or that habit you long to be free from. Galatians 5:19 gets more specific with the following short list of sins: “adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries and the like”. I think you get the idea. We have a sin nature that needs to be dealt with, and Jesus did that when he died on the cross shedding His blood for us. When we give our lives to Jesus we are saying, “I can’t do this on my own, I need help. Jesus, I want to hook my life to you in a consist and let you be my Lord (lead locomotive). Many have referred to this as “The Great Exchange”, our sin for eternal life.

The COVID-19 virus has closed church buildings everywhere, and there won’t be any traditional Easter services this year. Nevertheless, that doesn’t change what Jesus did when He died on the cross and rose again. The invitation remains to simply accept Him as your savior. When you do, you can truly celebrate Easter with millions of like-minded believers all over the world wherever you are. This is “The Church”. Friend, these are trying times for us all. Many live with fear, anxiety, stress, loneliness, financial difficulties and isolation. You will need the peace, comfort and hope that the Holy Spirit wants to give you, and all you need to do is humble yourself and ask. Please won’t you call on Him today; don’t delay.