Wrong train, right station

I recently rewatched my favorite show — Crash Landing on You — again with a friend. In this South Korean TV series, the two main characters meet and experience a series of truly unexpected and terrifying events. Problem after problem arises, and it seems like no matter how hard they try to overcome their obstacles, new stumbling blocks appear.

During one episode, the two main characters are on a train when a blackout occurs. Their train is stopped, and they have to sleep outside in the cold winter night as they wait for the power to come back on so they can continue their journey. While huddled around a campfire, the main girl says “There is an Indian proverb that goes, ‘Sometimes, the wrong train takes you to the right station.’” She further remarks that if she hadn’t had such unexpected and terrifying experiences, then she wouldn’t have met the other main character nor built relationships with people that she would’ve never associated with otherwise. She wouldn’t have learned the lessons she needed to become a better person. In short, if she hadn’t boarded that wrong train — and it was a very wrong train indeed (she ended up in North Korea) — then she wouldn’t have ever found her right station.

Life is known for throwing curveballs at us when we least expect it. Plans that, just days before, seemed to set a concrete framework for the future can crumble in an instant. Faced with the realization that some aspects of life will happen without our consent, we often feel powerless. As humans, we want so badly to be the conductors in control of our own trains, but the reality is that most of the time, we are passengers who are simply along for the ride — no matter where that may take us.

Luckily, at the helm of our train stands an all knowing, merciful conductor whose only wish is to lead us to our right stations. Proverbs 3:5-6 reads “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to go on a trip to Ecuador. One day, we had to take a bus from the Chimborazo province in the Andes mountains to the coastal city of Guayaquil. The journey was only supposed to take 4 hours, but our bus broke down no less than 3 times, so it ended up taking 8 or 9. Every time the bus broke down, we sat on the side of the road for at least an hour, but sometimes it was much longer. None of the kids were allowed to have their phones with them on the trip, and so none of us had our usual sources of entertainment. What could we do? We bonded. I got to know kids on the trip that I never would’ve really talked to before. We sang “99 Bottles of Root Beer on the Wall” all the way to the end together, we borrowed our teachers’ phones and took TONS of pictures, we played “I Spy”, and had lots of fun in each other’s’ company. In addition, we had plans to eat at a pizza place for lunch in Guayaquil once we arrived (the adults thought we were homesick for food that we all loved). However, because of the constant bus breakdowns, we missed that reservation, and all the kids were starving. We ended up stopping in a small town to buy a part for the bus, and there we found a tiny hole-in-the-wall restaurant that served native Ecuadorian food. It wasn’t food that we expected, nor were accustomed to, but it was delicious nonetheless!

That entire day was full of wrong trains and strange roads. But, I know that if our bus hadn’t kept breaking down, I wouldn’t have built such strong connections with the other students on the trip. If we hadn’t had to stop in that small town, we never would’ve had the opportunity to push outside our comfort zones and try new food in a different culture. I can say with certainty that although we were on the wrong train, it led us to our right station.

When every train we take seems to be the wrong one, we can take comfort in knowing that no matter WHICH train we board, no matter how far along strange roads we seem to wander, the Savior is the Engineer in charge. It takes faith and it takes trust; to turn away from what we understand and follow Him into unfamiliar paths also takes courage. However, under his loving direction, eventually, the routes which seemed so wrong before will lead us to the station where we need to be.

I know that as we continue on our journey in life, we will feel powerless. It’s a fact of life that as humans, we cannot control everything. But I also know that as we put our faith in Jesus Christ — the Master Conductor — we will get to where we need to go. So remember, when it seems like everything is falling apart, put your trust in Him and His guidance. After all, sometimes the wrong train will take you to the right station.

Avery Palenske is a master juggler – of 7 part-time jobs that is (don’t trust her with juggling actual objects because it would end very badly). In between selling cookies, doing chiropractic paperwork, and caring for young ‘uns – along with 4 other gigs – she likes to watch Korean dramas, write amateur poetry, and dream about the day when she can visit a sunflower field in person. However, her most favorite thing is being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.