Last Wednesday wasn’t the best day. My till-then trusty Jeep developed a plumbing problem. The ring and pinion gears overheated and I ended up by the side of the road outside of Benson, AZ. Luckily, I have roadside assistance coverage with Verizon Wireless, which I’ve always found to be wonderful. Wednesday, they seemed especially wonderful when I was sitting there in the desolate desert. I eventually got a tow back to the Tuscon Chrysler Jeep dealer, who is going to fix it over the next week. (You can read more about that in my personal blog at RoadworkWriter.wordpress.com.) On the hour-long drive back to Tuscon, I got to know Troy who is a trucker and member of the Hawg Ridin’ Fools Motorcycle Club, a bike club with members in five states. Troy’s biker alias is “Pothole.”
Troy works for S & D Towing and Auto Repair, the Benson company Verizon contracted to tow me into Tuscon. As we talked on the way to Tuscon, I discovered Troy has an avocation that at first seems inconsistent with his life as a trucker, auto repairman and biker. He’s a minister. He has performed only a handful of weddings so far, but that’s the reason he got his license. He doesn’t lead a church or perform other ceremonies—just weddings. He never charges for the weddings at which he officiates. He considers his service a gift to each new couple.
Although Troy doesn’t think of his ministering as job or business, it’s interesting to think that people can do jobs that seem outside of our expectation of them. He doesn’t look the part of a minister, whatever that look might be. But there’s something else. Troy is really proud of what he does—he’s passionate about it. It was so important for him to do weddings that he spent money to get the license, he spends a generous amount of time with the couples planning the vows and ceremony, and he’s willing to do it for free. You should see the glint in his eye when he talks about it. I don’t know what Troy would say, but I get the feeling he identifies with his ministering, in a way, more than his work at the garage.
I suppose that’s not unusual. We all have to do jobs sometimes that we don’t identify with strongly, because we have to put bread on the table. The lesson I learned from Troy is that you can receive fulfillment from the thing that captures your heart, even if you don’t do it every day, even if you don’t get paid for it. It seems obvious, but how often do we discount the things that are the most important to us? What if there is a way to make the things we love a bigger, more regular part of our lives? Maybe, like Troy, we should put a little more effort into those things that will put a glint in our eye.
We spend a lot of time and money on professional development, special equipment and business development, because we expect it to pay off in profit—dollars. We want the dollars because we believe it will help us enjoy life. That’s what we think of as fulfillment, but maybe we’re looking in the wrong place for fulfillment. I’ve felt as fulfilled as I ever have over the past few months of traveling. That’s without a home (we sold it, and I used part of my money to buy the Jeep I travel in—when it’s working). It’s without a regular job, and without a huge income. This lifestyle is not for everybody, but it’s inspiring to me. It’s energizing. I wouldn’t have thought, years ago when I took my first corporate job, that my real passion would lie in the life of a gypsy.
I don’t suppose Troy knew years ago that he’d find his passion as a minister. I imagine there was a moment when he realized it was something he wanted to do for real. The only difference between him and people who never realize their passion is that he took steps toward it, placing it in his life as a priority over money, or at least alongside money in its level of importance.
As Americans, my generation was brought up to believe that the more money we made, the happier we would be. I can tell you from experience, and so can Troy I’m guessing, that it’s a fallacy. It’s not the money that makes us happy. It’s that thing that creates the glint in the eye.
——————————-
To talk with Troy about ministering at a wedding or connecting with the Hawg Ridin’ Fools, contact him at TroyRogers@ymail.com.
