Keep On Truckin' - Wrinkled Brows

Wrinkled Brows - on Mondays - an eclectic series on quotations or word definitions.

 It was back-to-school night; one of those occasions when parents gather at school sites all over the country to meet their child's teachers, take a look at their student's handiwork, and hear a bit about how their son or daughter is doing.

Many parents look forward to these little get-togethers, some dread them, and others simply never know what to expect.  We fell into the latter category.

Our middle son was one of those kids that just kept you on the edge of your patience, as well as the edge of your seat, for his entire childhood.  He was a good athlete, but a so-so student, and he could be so charmingly unassuming about it that you didn't quite know how to reproach him.  Or at least we didn't.  He was a happy, carefree little guy, with a laid back attitude, and a wacky sense of humor.

Thus, one evening when he was in second-grade, we approached the school grounds with a by-now-familiar sense of "what will he do next?" tension.   On this occasion, we need not have worried, as he was on his best behavior, and he was glad to show us his art project.

First the teacher told the assembled parents that, for this occasion, she had assigned the children the task of drawing three pictures that illustrated how they saw the world and life.  Within those very broad parameters, they could draw anything they wanted.  Oh, boy....

We approached our son's first drawing and saw that he had drawn a big shining sun with grass and a couple of attempted trees, and the caption in his large left-handed scrawl read:  God Is Love.

Well, color us happy.  The next picture showed a big cross at the top, a smiling face in the center of the page and down at the bottom a stick figure of a little boy.  The caption read:  Jesus Loves Me.

I was about to burst into happy-tears of love and pride, thinking, "He gets it.  And this is pretty deep stuff for a seven-year old.  First a global view - God is love; then a personal application - Jesus loves me."  Wow!  Color us both happy and proud.

We then moved on to his final drawing.  It was a big rig truck, with the simple caption:  Keep On Truckin'.  We looked at each other and burst out laughing.  I have laughed about it every time I remembered it since.

Additionally, I have also used this little story numerous times in various talks and speeches to church groups, women's luncheons, etc. over the years, as it isn't a bad life-philosophy when you think about the whole of it.

God is love, that is the over all crowning truth of scripture, followed immediately by the fact that He loves us individually, not just as some collective lump of humanity.

And when all is said and done, no matter what has worked out well, or what has come crashing down around you, about all you can do, unless you are a quitter, is to "keep on truckin'."  It still makes me smile.

Hope it gave you a smile, too.  Have a good day. ...Marsha

P.S. Cartoonist R. Crumb is credited with originating the saying in the 1980's Keep On Truckin'.