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Shrewd and Innocent
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Pocket Full of Quarters Journey 2015
Be Shrewd and Innocent
Written In California
By Cheryle M. Touchton
The Pocket Full of Quarters Lady
I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves 10:16
Do you worry about the risks involved with me traveling alone? If so, you are in good company - many do. I always say I'm good for the prayer life of my loved ones. Just so you know, I am aware that God is sending me out among the wolves. I try my best not to get in situations that will get me eaten. For example, I try to arrive at campgrounds before dark and if at all possible, before the office closes. If I can't, I try to have a reservation so I don't have to stand alone in the dark filling out paperwork.
Unfortunately, while traveling through California, that didn't work out. I pulled into a KOA campground in the pitch black dark. The office and other campers were dark. I quickly filled out the paperwork, dropped it in the night box, and took a night packet with a campsite assignment, which happed to be on the end of a row.
I pulled in and got out to hook up when a dilapidated pickup truck drove in the campground and stopped beside me. A young man with the ragtag look of a "traveler," rolled down his window. In case you don't know what a traveler is, they are mostly young people traveling across the country in packs. They recruit college kids and other young people as they travel. They usually have long matted or dreadlocked hair and dirty worn clothing. You can often recognize them by the backpacks and big dogs. This young man also had a cigarette tucked behind his hear, which is normal since they often ask others for cigarettes. I knew that if he followed the pattern of most travelers, that truck had been overflowing with young people, most likely dropped off somewhere outside the campground and waiting for his signal to come in.
Many campgrounds lock bathroom doors because travelers enter campground bathrooms after hours to shower and sleep. My night packet let me know their bathroom was locked but didn't give me the code, which indicated that they'd had trouble with travelers and didn't want to leave the codes out. Written in bold letters on the night packet were "Do Not Give Out the Bathroom Code To Anyone NOT Registered."
"I need to use the bathroom! Give me the code," he said in a firm voice.
"I'm sorry," I said, gently. "I can't help you. I just arrived and don't have the code." I didn't mention that I wouldn't have given it to him anyway.
"I need to use the bathroom!" he said more firmly. "I will only be a second."
"I understand you need to use the bathroom. I can't help you," I said, matching his firm tone and looking him in the eye. "I don't have the code."
He looked at my camper. I said, "I'm not letting you in the camper to use the bathroom. Sorry."
"Are you out here alone? Where is the campground manager?"
"I'm not alone and I'm sorry but I don't know." Shiloh was already making it clear I wasn't alone.
He sped off, squealing tires and stopped at a site a few spots up. He got out and pounded on their door. No one knocks on camper doors, especially at night. I knew that other campers and travelers often are carrying so I ducked behind my camper with my cell phone ready in case of trouble.
The people must have given him the code because he left the campground entirely and returned a couple of minutes later to park in front of the bathroom. I couldn't see how many were with him. Since my camper was hooked up and Shiloh had walked, I went inside and locked up.
It was a long night. Normally, with the air and fan on, Shiloh can't hear outside noises and sleeps peacefully. That night, she barked continually in her angry guard dog bark. I saw nothing outside and could have muzzled her so I could sleep but decided I wanted her barking.
I knew I'd made at least one traveler angry so I wanted to leave. However, my camper was hooked up and I wasn't willing to go outside to unhook it. Even starting the engine required unlocking doors to turn off the alarm. Shiloh spent the night barking and I spent it alert and with a quick escape planned. I left the campground at daybreak.
"I don't know how you do it," my best friend Nancy Edwards said later when I called for comfort after my long night. She loves me and is always reminding me to be cautious.
I thought about "how" I do it. First, while I was definitely alert and carefully handling the interaction, I wasn't really afraid. You may expect me to say that I wasn't afraid because I trusted God. I did trust God but we all know from reading our Bibles that our physical bodies aren't always protected when we are in God's service.
Ironically the reason I was both alert and also not really afraid was the same thing - when I'm on the road, I try to follow the Biblical instruction to be both shrewd and innocent at the same time.
For me, shrewd is doing my best to understand the streets so I can take precautions and have effective Gospel Conversations. I've interacted with travelers many times. I know that a few are dangerous and have criminal records so I was alert. I also know that most live by their own unique peaceful code of ethics. They absolutely run what most consider scams and if they think a law is pointless, most don't mind breaking it. They think nothing of invading private property to take care of their own needs and have no problem asking for handouts from strangers and the government. They encourage other young people to join them and often use the newbie's parental credit card and car for the next leg of their journey. However, they seek out peaceful groups like the Rainbow People and many take on new names that represent peace or nature. It would be unusual for a traveler to deliberately harm another person unless they felt they had to protect themselves.
The young man driving that truck was deliberately using intimidation in an attempt to make me give him that bathroom code, but it was most likely more of a scam to get a woman traveling alone to give him what he wanted rather than a real threat. The travelers were probably wandering around the campground and upsetting Shiloh and may have thought it funny to get even with me for not giving the code by making my dog bark but they probably intended no real physical harm.
Are you wondering why I didn't give the Gospel? First, he said he needed to use the bathroom so slowing him down seemed rude. Also, I've learned that with travelers I need a hook like, something free or a favor, to get them to slow down enough to dialogue and listen to the convicting Gospel scriptures. I didn't have either.
Because I try to be shrewd about travelers, I both recognized what was going on and knew that it was probably more of an annoyance than a threat. I was annoyed and tired but unharmed.
The innocent part was harder. The situation had the potential to both scare and enrage me. To effectively give the Gospel to travelers, I have to keep my heart tender and not let the enemy scare me. Our fight is not with flesh and blood and thus, my fight was not with the travelers. It was a long night but I'm still here. Thank you to all who pray for me.
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