Mark Sorensen In June of 1994, 73-year-old Alvin Straight, a veteran of World War II and the Korean War, was facing a tough decision. His 80-year-old brother, Henry, had suffered a stroke and his condition wasn’t good. Alvin hadn’t spoken to his brother in over a decade because of a fight and decided that it was time to make amends. There were two problems he faced in making his resolution. One, Alvin, also in poor health, didn’t have a valid driver’s license and didn’t trust public transportation. Two, Alvin lived in Laurens, Iowa, and his brother in Blue River, Wisconsin, a distance of about 250 miles.
So, Alvin took the only option he had available. He hitched up a trailer to his John Deere riding lawn mower and set out on a journey to see his brother.
And what a journey it was!
- Four days into his journey he had to stop for repairs.
- Over halfway, he ran out of money and had to set up a makeshift camp to wait for his next Social Security check before he could continue.
- Just 30 miles from Wisconsin, torrential rain forced him to stop again.
- His mower broke down for the final time only 2 miles from his brother’s home. Thanks to the generosity of a passing farmer who helped push Alvin’s mower the remaining miles to his brother’s house, he finally completed his journey on August 16.
Six weeks. That’s how long that journey took. Incredible.
Alvin said of the importance of this journey, “Anger, pride, you mix that together with liquor and you have two brothers that haven’t spoken in 10 years. Whatever it was that made me and Henry so mad, it doesn’t matter anymore. I want to make peace. I want to sit with him, look up at the stars, like we used to do, so long ago.”
What a powerful story of reconciliation. Traveling 250 miles on a riding lawn mower is quite a journey to take to seek out forgiveness. However, you know an even longer distance? The length God would go to step out of heaven, wrap Himself in flesh and show us grace, mercy and forgiveness through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That meets you today, friends. And on the other side of that, Jesus asks that we bring the same forgiveness to others (see Matthew 6:12,14-15).
Perhaps it’s time to fire up that John Deere mower and get to work, friends. It’s worth the trip.
