Chariots of our Life
Volume 1
by
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THE MAN WITH THE MUSTACHE I am standing in the stable just giving praise to Our Father when all of a sudden I can hear footsteps off in the distance. They appear to be approaching the stable. I crouch down behind a pile of straw and watch as a stranger appears in the doorway. “Pardon me. Is anyone here?” he shouts in a loud and questioning voice. I observe this fellow as he steps inside the stable and once again looks all around.
He is sort of a young looking man and he has a great big mustache. I watch as he continues to look around. Once again he shouts out, “Is anyone here. I was told by a voice in the shower this morning that I should come here seeking a job as a chariot tender, whatever that is.” I continue to watch this fellow as he seems like quite an interesting sort. He just stands there looking all around and finally he turns toward the doorway. He steps out through the door and stands there with his hands in his pockets. He is in very deep thought.
I step out from behind the pile of straw and ask, “Can I help you, Mister?” He turns on his heels and starts walking toward me. We walks with a quick step, sort of like a cowboy would. I extend my hand toward this stranger and he in turn does the same. As we stand there shaking hands, I notice that tears are in his eyes. I ask, “What is the matter stranger? Have you lost something? Why all the tears?” He looks me in the eye and says, “This morning while I was in the shower, a voice told me to come here. I don’t know what it meant but I could not resist the voice. After I got here and no one was here, I could feel a strong presence that I have never felt before. Do you know what this is about?” “Yes, I do stranger. How about turning loose of my hand? Let’s have a seat over here on this pile of straw and talk about this feeling that you have,” I say as I drop my hand to my side. The stranger walks quickly past me and heads for the pile of straw. I guess he is looking for the best seat on the pile. Anyway, I watch as he looks up and down the pile and then asks, “Do we just sit anywhere on this pile or is there a special place to sit?” I am thinking to myself, “This guy must be a city slicker of sorts. I mean, come on. It is a pile of straw. Pick a spot and sit down.”
This stranger is sort of touching my heart but I can’t quite put my finger on it. “Are you a religious man, stranger?” I ask. “What do you mean by religious? I go to church occasionally and I know who Jesus is,” he says with a smile on his face. “My, my, you are quite a learned fellow, Mister, but you are going to learn a lot more if you stick with me. Do you know anything about chariots?” I ask while I look him in the eye. He has a worried look on his face and he asks, “Isn’t that the thing that we can ride in and it is pulled by a horse? I am just fooling you Mister. Of course I know what a chariot is. I was raised on an island and we had horses all over the place. We had a chariot but the wheels kept falling off the thing. I remember when we first got it. The sides shown like lights and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I guess as time went on, it probably got old and was not well taken care of. Sort of like my religious life. Not very well taken care of. Anyway, I do know what a chariot is and I will do what I can to help out.” I stand up and say, “I am glad to hear that, now let’s get started by putting this chariot over here together. We will work on your religion thing as we go on different journeys to places near and far. Do you think you can handle that?”
He jumps up off the pile of straw and does sort of a little jig on the floor. “What in the world is that?” I ask as he stands there sort of red faced. “I am just so happy, Mister, and my feet get going in all directions when I get excited,” he says with a big grin on his face.
“Come on over here and look at this chariot and see what you think,” I say as we walk toward a disassembled chariot laying in a pile on the floor. THE MAN WITH THE MUSTACHE walks around the pile of straw and stands beside me looking at the old chariot. “Hey, Mister, where did you get this chariot? We had one just like it on the island,” the man with the mustache says as he studies the pile of parts.
There is a very curious look on his face as he studies the pile of pieces. Suddenly he has tears in his eyes and he tries to wipe them off before I see them. “Maybe it was your old chariot as it did come from the island. A caravan of gypsies passed by yesterday and they traded this mess for some sandwiches and water,” I say as we stand there looking over the chariot. The man with the mustache drops to his knees and starts crying all over again. I put my hand on his shoulder and ask, “What brings you to these tears, Mister? It is only a broken down chariot in bad need of repair.” The man with the mustache touches the scratches on the chariot and says, “Do you see these scratch marks here on the side of the chariot? I put those marks there when I was a small child. I tried to climb up the side of the chariot with a pitchfork and slipped off. My Dad paddled me good for that trick too.” Tears are flowing from my eyes too as I know that he indeed knows this chariot.
Isn’t it amazing how someone is sent into your life to show the true meaning of what is going on? Only Our Father can do these miraculous things and somehow it is still so very hard to realize. Time is what life is all about and somehow we are an empty shell that is filled by the graces and love of Our Father. I can only imagine how great life would be if we were continually full of His love all the time. We must use some love to get more love. What a concept.
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About the Book
Each chapter is a totally new day and new adventure. The characters in each chapter are real people, and they are portrayed by their physical character and the way they typically act. Miss Lisa is the main character, and she is the only character that is defined by name. Her name is an acronym for Love Is Simply Awesome. In each of the journeys, Miss Lisa gives a short story about what is happening in the journey. The journeys sometimes have a biblical story and sometimes a life-telling story. As each chapter goes on a different journey, the interpretation of the journey is left up to each individual as to what is really happening. Open up your heart and think with an open mind to totally get the meaning of the journey. Sometimes we are led in one direction, but at the same time we can be pulled in a totally different direction by our mind. The journey is only in the mind, and the chariot is the method by which the mind is moved in the journey. Reflect in each chapter, and see if you or any of your friends fit into the characters. “More than a journey taker, Gary L. Ellinger is like a general in charge of a group of soldiers getting ready to go to battle. The plan of the day is laid out and then the journey proceeds as if directed by a super being. The super being in this case is a man called “Our Father.” Gary has the real knowledge of what is needed to make the journey interesting and to get you there and back without incident. The words that he writes are an inspiration to all who read this book. The travels are not too far fetched and they are definitely possible in a person’s mind. Let the journey begin” - Jack Hansford Fields -
About the Author
I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and lived in eight states before I was three years old. I ended up in Billings, Montana and was raised there until my teenage years when I once again moved. This time I moved to Preston, Minnesota and was there until I went off to serve my time in the United States Marine Corps. After I entered the Marine Corps, I traveled extensively around different parts of the world. I have traveled in forty nine of the fifty states and I have been in China, Japan, Philippines, North and South Viet Nam, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Crete, Sardinia, Germany, Austria, and Spain. I have seen so very many beautiful places in my life and have been through lots of valleys. I have climbed mountains in numerous places, including Germany and Japan. I climbed Mount Fuji three times, twice in the summer and once when it was snow covered. I never saw anything as beautiful as waking up in the morning on top of Mount Fuji. The clouds were below me and the mountain peaks were like islands in a sea of snow. I think it was then that I first saw the very true and divine works that Our Father can produce. As a child, growing up in Montana, the majestic beauty of the mountains was taken for granted Several years ago, I took my wife and two of my grandsons to Montana for a visit. Every time I go back there, it is as if I have been called back to the Garden of Eden. To wake up in the morning and have a seventy degree start to the day is amazing. Even more amazing is to look off toward the west and see snow cascading half way down the mountains. Such glory and beauty has led me to try to capture that beauty in the travels and adventures that I have written about in this book. The characters are real and are identified by their physical character. Their actions and the things they say or do are real. As the journeys progress, so does their growth in Our Father and what He can do. As new people sow a seed into my life, a journey is sprouted and the plant becomes yet another chapter in the book. As the plants become more and more real in my mind, the journeys continue and the characters become more in tune with what Our Father wants them to do. The characters are not special in any way and they could be any one of us. Some are more like Our Father and some need a lot of work. You decide as the journeys go on. I wrote these journeys for my own enjoyment, but as my friends and family read them, they convinced me that they need to be published. I hope that they will be as interesting to you as they were to me when these seeds were planted. The journeys will make you think about people you know or maybe a character is like yourself. The journeys will either make you want to learn more about the Bible or just make you more interested in what Our Father can do in your mind. Open your heart, mind and soul and let the journey take you to new and exciting places.