Our house is about 100 feet from the railroad tracks and a train goes by at least every hour. We have lived in this house for close to 25 years so we have gotten used to the racket it makes as it goes by our house, we hardly even notice it. As the kids were growing up I got lots of teaching illustrations for the kids from the train. One of them that I repeated often was the “engine and caboose” illustration. I told them that the engine was pulling all of the cars and it was a picture of our wisdom, clear thinking, knowledge, and resolve to do what was right according to Jesus. The caboose was a picture of our feelings and emotions. In life our emotions are influenced by all the events we experience, the words people say to us, even the weather! If we act the way we feel the train is going backwards, and our feelings will become even more negative than they already are. We can’t stop what we feel, but if we act right in spite of our emotions the train is going ithe right direction with the caboose at the end, and the result is we will soon feel joy, peace, satisfaction, and a sense of self worth and security. It takes a great deal of self control to not allow our emotions to run our life. This control that keeps wisdom up front is the most fundamental definition of maturity.