Guest Blogger: Marion McCann

Marion McCann – Miss Marion as my daughter Christie called her – was a Brownie den mother when I first met her. She and her husband John spent years caring for their son Jake, who suffered a traumatic brain injury and finally went to be with his Lord. She knows grief and pain firsthand.

She was an opinion columnist for the Ruston Daily Leader for five years. Her articles dealt with the town of Ruston, Louisiana, during her life and reaching back into her mother's childhood.

She became a fulltime "Over the Road" truck driver to help support her family. To this day, she keeps on trucking. She contributed this poignant story for the blog, Do You Know How God Loves You?

Here's the story:

I have a short book wanting to be written about how I deal with grief moment by moment with God. He saves my literal sanity by infusing me without ceasing in one moment so I can make it to the next. He has brought me a long way.

Yesterday cannot be changed and tomorrow may not arrive but to live His will in each moment builds my life into something tolerable, even desirable. He gives me strength to endure and reach out, which I was unable to do for a long time due to losing part of my heart, my Jake. I had nothing more to give. At least, I didn't think I did.

For example: Poteau, Ok, night before last. I was on my way in from the fuel pumps and saw a man sitting by the curb on a duffle bag--he looked worn out...a hitchhiker or someone really down on his luck. I signaled to him to come here.

He arose and left his belongings unguarded and walked over with an inquisitive look on his face. I said, “Go get your stuff and get in here where you can cool off. I am buying you supper.”

A big smile and then he said, “I have not showered in days. You don't want me near you.”

I explained to him, “I get a free shower ticket for buying fuel and you may have the ticket but I am in a hurry so get in here, pick out whatever and however much you want to eat and drink and have leftover for the next meal then go shower, it will be all paid for when I leave.”

He picked out pizza and chicken, a candy bar and a two-liter Mountain Dew. I told the cashier, “This man has had a hard time so until he can find a way to move on, please let him refill his ice cup and use the truckers lounge after I leave.”

I gave him the shower coupon and went to my truck to check my oil and wash the windshield. I noticed he did not go straight to the shower but was sitting on the curb again, well into a piece of his pizza- fingers dripping with strands of cheese--lesson here is don't expect a starving man to jump in the shower before he is fed.

Before I began to try to live each given moment the very best I knew how, I would never have approached a hungry, dirty stranger and been almost bossy in my request to offer help.

His comment keeps ringing in my heart: “You don't have to do this.” (My unvoiced thought: oh, yes, I do.)

What I did say was, “Man-you are my brother in Christ and I don't want my brother out here stranded with nothing to eat and no way to get cleaned up!”

A backward glance was rewarded with a big wave of thanks and goodbye! I believe he will go on to help someone else down the road!

I have a bag full of tales from the road thanks be to God!

There is one that happened on the road to Goliad in Texas. The Mexican man was barefoot and carrying a very tired pet cat named El Gato, Cat in Spanish. His shoes hung from one shoulder by tied together laces...his feet were blistered and bleeding...you can fill in the blanks and believe me to be foolhardy--but the outcome was a good one. (And, I bet you would have done what I did!)


Click here for the Kindle version of Do You Know How God Loves You?