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June 20, 2011
There I sat in the cab of the 1 ton dump truck waiting for who-knows-what to arrive and fill my order. This was the first time I was at an aggregate supply yard. I was 19 years old, and very intimidated. I had been sent by the owner of the landscape company I worked for between university terms to pick up 2 cubic yards of 1.5 inch drain rock. I knew what the drain rock looked like, but I had no idea how much 2 cubic yards was and I really didn’t know what was involved in getting it into my truck.
As I sat there intimidated by these unknowns and by the mountains of material that surrounded my truck I felt something that did nothing to calm my insecurities. The ground began to rumble around me – something akin to minor earth tremors – followed by a deafening roar that sounded like a jet engine. My eyes then beheld the largest piece of motorized equipment I had ever seen in my life – an 8 cubic yard front-end loader. Now, I know for many of you guys that may be a little girlie loader, but for a 19 year old North Vancouver middle class city slicker it was gigantic.
The big, burly, hairy driver opened the door and yelled something intimating at me, which I interpreted as meaning, “What do you want and how much of it do you want?” I pointed at the mountain of drain rock and held up 2 fingers. He yelled back what I think was, “Tell me when to stop.” He then partially filled his bucket, rumbled over to my truck and gingerly shook out some drain rock. I timidly told him to stop – having no idea how much 2 yards looked like and no idea if I even had what I came here for. He left abruptly.
I drove back to the weigh scale on the way out to talk with the same rough, burly, intimidating guy I timidly asked on the way in how I get 2 yards of 1.5 inch drain rock. He was the one who told me to drive over to the mountains of rock and wait. When I reached the scale on the way out he said, “I thought you wanted 2 yards of drain rock?”
“Ah, yeah I do, but don’t really know how much that is and the guy in the massive loader seemed to be in a hurry.”
Then the God moment arrived – my significant life lesson began…
The rough, burly, intimidating guy looked me square in the eyes and said boldly and matter-of-factly as only a manly man could, “Look kid, you came here to get 2 yards of 1.5 inch drain rock. Don’t leave until you have it!” I am sure there were some colorful expletives mixed in there for good measure, but the underlying sentiment was clear, “Grow some balls kid.” Or to put it in the Biblical vernacular, “Be strong and courageous!”
So, emboldened with a newfound confidence, and knowing that I only had 1 yard of drain rock, I drove back to mountains of rock and then boldly took charge of commanding the guy in the massive loader to give me one more yard. Which he did, and I left a changed man.
My lesson was very simple: sometimes we just need to man up. We need to choose to be bold and courageous. Cowboy up. Nut up or shut up. However you want to put it, we simply need to choose to be strong. It’s part of being a man.
So, you may very well be facing some very intimidating scenarios right now. Yes, get prayer for you. Yes, seek wisdom from the Lord. Yes, surrender to His will and ask for strength. Then, man up. Be strong, be courageous – they are both choices. Follow in Joshua’s footsteps.
Be strong. Be courageous. Be a man.
Joshua 1:9
“Haven’t I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don’t be timid; don’t get discouraged. God, your God, is with you every step you take.” (The Message)