My Summer at a Truck Stop
Desperation and loneliness characterized much of the summer between my sophomore and junior years of college. And yet as I look back on that summer, I am so very grateful for lessons learned. My family had moved to Manila, Philippines the previous summer with my dad’s job with Goodyear which meant my brother and I who were in college in the States needed to make summer plans that would provide not only employment but a place to live. (Goodyear generously flew us ‘home’ once a year and we saved that trip for Christmas). My Grandma Handrich was thrilled to have me with her that summer and helped me find a job at a local ‘restaurant’. I humbly put that in quotes because it WAS a restaurant, but so much more! It was a truck stop/restaurant/bowling alley along US 12W west of Minneapolis.
Working at the Lake Bowl was truly ‘work’ - we did it all! I learned to cut up chicken, ‘broast’ chicken and potatoes (the local favorite), clean, and wait tables. I was given one polyester (brown) uniform that I washed out each evening and hung on my Grandma’s line outside to dry.
The Lake Bowl was my saving grace because the work distracted me from the loneliness of missing my family (who I had seen at Christmas 6 months prior), and my boyfriend (who was back at Valparaiso University, IN, studying for the summer). I was also obsessing over what I was eating (or trying to avoid eating) while living with a grandma who I was sure wanted to ‘fatten me up.’ I was in year 4 of a 10- year battle with eating disorders and it terrified me to think that the butter Grandma used when she cooked and baked would make be fat. So, I did what I could to avoid gaining weight, walking to and from work each day, taking on extra hours as others vacationed and excusing myself from eating at home as I could. My poor Grandma. I was so self-focused, and sad.
Calling my mom one day (long-distance to Manila on a landline) I was desperate and in tears. My poor mom. She encouraged as she could, prayed with me and then shared the most profound thing (I didn’t want to hear). . .’often when we are sad/lonely/depressed, it helps to do something for someone else.’ Ugh! How could I? That was the last thing I wanted to do. But thankfully the Lord motivated me to ‘give it a try.’ I headed to a nearby nursing home to ‘volunteer’. AND IT HELPED! Once the focus was off of ‘me, myself and I’ and I had a purpose and was bringing obvious joy to others, my perspective changed, and life wasn’t as bad, lonely or desperate as it had so recently seemed. This lesson still comes in handy as I continue to seek a Christ-centered focus in my life, especially when I feel self-conscious, discouraged or just doubtful of what the Lord is doing with me. As I direct my gaze to Him, my eyes are lifted, and hope infuses my heart. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
