The Joy of a Train Ride

Summer goes too quickly, and my husband and I have been trying to fit in some day trips. A few weeks ago, we decided to make a day trip to the Strasburg Railroad in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. And we invited six of our nieces and nephews to join us.

This would be the first train ride for the children, unless you count riding the light rail to the Orioles game.

Trains are magical, and steam locomotives are full of history. And a train ride is exhilarating. We were excited for the day, and we couldn’t wait to see what the children thought of the train. We might have been even more excited than our nieces and nephews.

When my sister and her family pulled into the lot at Strasburg, we hurried to welcome them. We had just a few minutes to climb aboard and find seats together. Luckily, there were plenty of seats on a Friday afternoon during the summer. We were ready with tickets in hand as the train pulled out of the station on its way to Paradise, Pennsylvania.

I’ve ridden that stretch of track more times than I can count. My family visited Strasburg when I was a child. I came back with friends when I was a college student in Lancaster. My husband and I visited Strasburg before we had children. And once we were parents of train enthusiasts, we made multiple visits. Lancaster County is the perfect distance from Baltimore for a day trip, and who doesn’t love a ride on a train?

Our nieces and nephews certainly did—especially the youngest, who is 2 ½. As far as I can tell, he loves all vehicles. He loved the train ride itself, and he also pointed out the trucks and tractors that we were passing. And all the children seemed to enjoy spotting cows and other farm animals along the way.

But our youngest nephew was the one who seemed to be mesmerized. And it took me back to the days when we would ride trains with our toddlers. You’d expect them to look excited, but instead they would get quiet and serious, watching everything around them, and taking the experience in.

Sometimes when we’re soaking in the moment, other people don’t realize how much we’re immersed in it, taking it all in. That can be true at other times in our lives too—even at Mass.

If you walk into a Catholic Mass, you don’t always realize how much people are experiencing internally. There aren’t always outward signs of the love and the joy and the connection to God that people are feeling. But what is happening within people can be truly extraordinary—especially if we’re open to the ways God is working on our hearts and minds.

“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for what He is sending us every day in His goodness,” said St. Gianna Molla.

Sometimes, like a toddler on a train ride, we just need to be still, keep our eyes and ears open, and soak it all in. We never know what we will experience. But, as God walks with us, we know we’re in for a memorable ride.

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