What the Road Taught Me didn't come from a book or a classroom or a motivational weekend. It came from a diner stool, a long stretch of highway, and enough miles to finally stop arguing with the quiet.

Everybody's carrying something. The man eating alone at the end of the counter isn't necessarily lonely. The woman who doesn't make eye contact isn't necessarily rude. Most of the time people are just tired in a way that doesn't show up on the outside. The road taught me to give people the benefit of the quiet. Don't fill it. Don't explain it. Just let them have it. Sometimes that's the kindest thing you can offer a stranger.

This week's Roadside Notes is about what happens when you log enough miles to stop passing through and start paying attention. The road doesn't reward the people who have it all figured out. It rewards the ones who keep going anyway. There's a point on a long drive where the noise in your head runs out of things to say. That's where the real lessons live. And if you're willing to sit still long enough to receive them, they have a way of showing up right where you are.

📖 Read the full Journal entry: https://faithandgoodcourage.com/2026/07/09/what-the-road-taught-me/

🎙️ Roadside Notes is a reading series from the Faith and Good Courage Journal, stories of grace, grit, and second chances written and read by Christopher Tuttle, The Route 66 Chaplain.

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