I saw a man walking along the road earlier, but it wasn’t just any old road. It was a five-lane freeway.

I didn’t recall seeing a broken down car or truck, and the man didn’t appear to be toting his life’s possessions. He was simply walking while the rest of us sped by at 70 mph. It was nearly dusk, with just a hint of the day’s golden glow lingering on the horizon.

Had the lanes been fewer and the setting more rural, his silhouette would’ve been the visual equivalent of a country song. He wasn’t walking in a hurried manner, he was more or less strolling. Perhaps he was deep in thought, perhaps he was walking back to a vehicle still up ahead. He was definitely heading somewhere, but none of us knew the location.

Some people we meet in life may seem out of place, but to them, their path might be very clear. On the surface, they may not fit in with their surroundings, but their course is set, their journey known and their resolve unwavering. They may get static along the way or come across people who don’t have time to slow, but they’ll make their way regardless of others’ thoughts, judgment, suspicions or curiosity.

For these people — for their determination and their stick-to-it-ness on the crazy highway of life, I am thankful. There’s often a lesson in everything we see, but tonight’s man walking along the side of a highway was needed, not to mention a nice reminder that sometimes all we need is to simply keep going.