Route 66 Poem by Curtis Johnson

Route 66



Route 66
By Curtis Johnson

When The U.S. A. decided to build a highway system extending all the way to California, there was one highway which came to be known as Route 66. It extended from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California. Via television in the early 60’s, its fame grew far and wide; far above and beyond the reality of a long western ride. As a child, like millions of others, I enjoyed watching Todd and Buz zoom across the country in a Chevy Corvette.

This piece however, is not about that infamous highway, but rather, about a book called The Bible.
In the early 60’s, I also began a journey that has lasted far longer than the three and a half years and 116 episodes as did The Route 66 television series. It was more than 50 years ago that I began in earnest to read the Bible. Since the age of 14, I have not ceased to drive and to be driven through the highways of the Bible.

As I was reading a Biblical story today, the thought of the television series and the reality of the Bible’s 66 books converged in my heart. A theme about traveling through the pages of the 66 books was born, and I began to write. I’m looking back over all the places I’ve been on the biblical books of highway Route 66.

Please allow me to reduce this travel journey and display just a snapshot, because it would take volumes of books and a life time to really describe the places I’ve been, things I’ve seen, people I’ve met, not to mention the trials I’ve had along the way. So often we endeavor on a journey like the one I’m describing and set our sights on heaven, but we must not cheat ourselves on the highway to heaven that’s littered with so much love, joy, and peace. Clouds of glory and showers of blessings pave the roadway of Route 66.

Sometimes we do not realize that part of heaven is really about the journey. If our beginning were Genesis, and we never experienced the joy until we reached Revelation, we would have lost so much of heaven when we passed through Judges. If we only set our sights on the destination, we would never have experienced the beauty music of David in Samuel or his confessions in the Psalms.

Of course I was overjoyed and inspired beyond reason in the great Exodus and the Red Sea crossing, but there were also times that I was bored with the details of Leviticus. In my youth I must confess that I was both sad and moved to silence when I could not explain all the blood shed and warfare in Joshua. In time, I came to realize that if ever I were to reach my heavenly destination, I had no right to skip the Book of Job or leap over the evil plot of Haman in the Book of Esther.

I tell you, I had to learn to enjoy the journey in spite of the evil Kings of Israel portrayed in the Book of Kings or the slaughter of newborns by King Herod in the Gospels. I tell you, King Solomon was like so many of us when he speaks of vanities in The Book of Ecclesiastes, and shares the beauty of romance in The Song of Solomon. It was a most breath taking portrait of the wisdom of God when I turned North toward The Book of Proverbs. I tell you, there is nothing like pausing at a rest stop and drinking the fresh waters from the Book of Ruth.

O please pardon me, but the journey is so overwhelmingly wholesome, therapeutic, and healing that there simply is no end to the joys I could share with you about the path I took. When I exited the dirty and dusty roads that I had trodden before, Route 66 opened up a whole new world to me. There is so much more that I could say, but I would rather invite you to come along with me on Route 66, because there is plenty of room, and there is no end to this grandiose excursion.

O, there are so many more wonderful people, places, and things that I could share with you, but I must not forget to tell you that there was a Very Special Person that I continued to meet through out all my travels on Route 66. There was a Special Person and a Presence; This person expressed himself in many different forms, but there was little doubt about who he was. I tell you, he was and still is so very personable and the dearest of a friend to me. He is called and known by many names; some of which is Christ, Jesus, Savior, Master, and Teacher. He’s all those names to me, but I also call him Lord; and I met him when I got on Holy Highway and began my journey on Route 66.

cj070615

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