The Trolley Line

By Mark Jean-Luc Matthews

The Trolley Line is a series of ten inspirational-style essays covering a variety of Christian-themed topics.

01 The Trolley
02 The Misguided Cat
03 Does Faith Behave Like the Stock Market?
04 The Sound Studio
05 The Ultimate Computer Virus
06 Associations and Reinforcements
07 Tend Your Garden
08 Knobs, Handles, Dials, Levers – Making the Connections
09 The Home Equity Line of Life
10 Holy Inception

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mark Jean-Luc Matthews
• Release date: Apr 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370702633

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The Trolley Line

By Mark Jean-Luc Matthews

Copyright © 2017 by Mark Jean-Luc Matthews

Smashwords Edition License Notes:

This free ebook may be copied, distributed, reposted, reprinted and shared, provided it appears in its entirety without alteration, and the reader is not charged to access it.

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Greetings, fellow passengers. I hope one or more of these ten inspirational-style essays will speak to you in a special way. The ribbon-cutting ceremony is finally here. So enjoy, and may God’s many blessings be upon you. The first station stop on our Trolley Line tour is…The Trolley itself – All Aboard!

Stop 01: The Trolley

What if we thought of our life’s journey as a ride on an old-fashioned open-air trolley that moves along the tracks of a trolley line? This trolley car travels at a slow, constant, and methodical pace; representative of the passage of time. The stops along the trolley line represent each of our individual lifespans. We don’t know which station is our final trolley stop until we are pulling into it, at which time we must disembark. Is ours the next stop or far down the line?

During the ride, we are encouraged to remain on the trolley at all times. However, we have the gift of free will. We can therefore easily hop off and on again since it moves so slowly. Most of us try this at various points in our lives. Very few ever remain on the trolley the entire length of the line, remaining on the ideal path pre-conceived by God for each of us, keeping Christ at the center of our lives. Without discipline and plenty of help from others, free will leaves us susceptible to many distractions and temptations, and it is easy to let down our guard and to want to hop off and on.

Some of us eventually choose to not only hop off, but to walk alongside or behind the trolley simply because we are bored or to experience the novelty of a change of pace or scenery. The next logical progression is to then stop and linger for a while; to look around and pick things up and inspect them, even as those still on board are calling and waving for us to return as they dwindle into the distance. The sightseers erroneously assume that short excursions won’t do any harm. After all, just a few steps, a quick walk, or at most a brisk jog will easily bring them back alongside the trolley again well before it arrives at their station. Small excursions, the brief tangents away from the intended path that is God’s plan for our lives, soon become longer and more frequent. Successful trolley returns embolden us to stray again. This is remarkably similar to the way little sins can lead to bigger and bigger ones if left unchecked as we rationalize them away.

Every moment away from the trolley is squandered time and a lost opportunity that can never be fully regained. But as long as we do get back everything resets thanks to God’s mercy and grace; all’s well that ends well. The sacrament of reconciliation is a great way to get back to the trolley; to re-center Christ in our lives and to mend our relationship with Him when we do stray. More importantly, it helps us to want to remain on board;