Fifty-six year old James Robertson is a native of Detroit, Michigan. Over the years, he\u2019s seen the ravages of hard times eat way at the economy and the job market of the city he calls home. With limited options close to home, he was forced to take a job outside Detroit in neighboring Rochester Hills, where he would come to earn $10.55\/hr for a job in an engineering factory. It was a 21-mile round-trip commute, which wasn\u2019t so bad until 10 years ago when his 1988 Honda Accord conked out on him. Unable to afford a new vehicle (who could on a $10.55\/hr wage?!), he was left to hoof it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s right \u2014 for the past 10 years, James Robertson has walked the 21 mile round trip trek to work. Even more amazingly, he has managed to achieve perfect attendance.<\/p>\n
Robertson sometimes indulged in riding the bus for part of his journey, as well as occasionally enjoying a lift here and there from a compassionate commuter. But most of the miles (some 54,600 of them!) have been trod on the soles of his feet.<\/p>\n
Blake Pollack, a financial executive who travels a similar route to work, first spotted Robertson about a year and a half ago. \u201cClimbing over snow banks, when it was pouring down rain in the summer,\u201d Pollack said, \u201cwhatever the weather, he was there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pollack approached Robertson, heard his story, and promised to give him a ride the next time he saw him. He has since driven him to work, he estimates, between 40 to 50 times. Pollack and Robertson have since become good friends.<\/p>\n
Pollack began sharing the story which eventually caught the attention of a 19-year-old college student, Evan Leedy, who identified with Robertson\u2019s plight and started a GoFundMe page to raise money to help buy him a car. Leedy was hoping to raise at least $5000 to go toward a used vehicle. His hopes, however, were far exceeded when, in a matter of days, the donations exceeded $300,000!<\/p>\n
Pollack and Leedy worked together to surprise him with a brand new 2015 Ford Taurus. It\u2019s the car Robertson said he dreamed of owning someday because it is simple on the outside and tough on the inside, just like him.<\/p>\n
Pollack has also arranged for attorneys and financial planners to help manage Robertson\u2019s new found fortune in an effort to ward off those who\u2019d seek to take advantage, and to help him plan for a financially sound future.<\/p>\n
Fox News reported Leedy saying, \u201cThis money that is being given to him \u2014 he earned every penny of it, just by his work ethic and his attitude.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robertson is filled with deep appreciation, calling those who donated to his cause the real heroes of this story.<\/p>\n
He has no plans to quit working. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine not working,\u201d Robertson said. \u201cIt\u2019s what I\u2019ve always done.\u201d [1]<\/p>\n
If total strangers respond so generously to the humble efforts of a faithful man, imagine how God will respond to our humble efforts to faithfully serve Him. Don\u2019t grow weary in well doing. Continue to doggedly put one foot in front of the other, and store up for yourself blessings beyond measure.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up\u201d (Galatians 6:9).
\n \u201cA slack hand causes poverty, but the hand of the diligent makes rich\u201d (Proverbs 10:4, ESV).<\/p>\n
\u201cLove not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will have plenty of bread\u201d (Proverbs 20:13, ESV).
\n________<\/p>\n
1. \u201cDetroit man who commuted by foot 21 miles a day surprised with donated car\u201d by Stephanie Gallman, posted FEBRUARY 6, 2015, by CNN WIRE<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Fifty-six year old James Robertson is a native of Detroit, Michigan. Over the years, he\u2019s seen the ravages of hard times eat way at the economy and the job market of the city he calls home. With limited options close to home, he was forced to take a job outside Detroit in neighboring Rochester Hills, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1109,1408,376,438],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6069"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6069"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6069\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}