For the past three days I have been driving my grandma’s car because my old trusty Honda Civic was getting fixed. (My tire situation has taught me that in my next life, I will screen my best friends and the only ones who make the cut will be mechanics.) My life wouldn’t operate without a vehicle so I am beyond thankful for her willingness to let me use her car freely. (And you all should be thankful too; my grandmother behind the wheel is bad news) By using my grandma’s car, I experienced a new adventure every day (What story regarding her isn’t an adventure) beginning with the fact that she didn’t want me to adjust her side mirrors. Normally, I would change them and give my best attempt at returning them to the normal starting position but, if I did, she may run over someone. So I drove for three days using only my rearview mirror. My next adventure came on Tuesday night when I was driving home. I knew I needed gas but I have a bad habit of waiting until the orange gas tank appears to stop and fill up my tank. The Chevy Malibu doesn’t have an orange gas tank like my Honda Civic; it has an annoying dinging. And this dinging lasted for a few miles before it occurred to me that maybe the dinging was related to my empty tank. Don’t worry friends, I didn’t run out of gas but I was laughing at the thought of being stranded on the side of the Interstate as I quickly drove to the next exit.( my fast driving skills paid off this time) And the night gets better. When I finally made it home after being gone for 12 hours; I came inside my apartment only to be startled by a car alarm a few moments later. The longer the alarm went off, the louder it became. After a solid five minutes of a blaring alarm, I went to my front door to see whose car was making this disturbing noise. I didn’t have a chance to be annoyed at the person too careless to silence their own alarm because as soon as I approached my door; I saw my car lights blinking. When I threw my keychain on my kitchen counter and put my backpack on top of the keys (my usual routine when I return home), I set off the panic button on my grandma’s key alarm. I didn’t consider that the alarm going off could be mine because I was used to my car which doesn’t have a car alarm. As much as I enjoyed driving a car with a V6 engine (and the smell of Misty lights and Gold Dazzle perfume), I was glad to get my car back last night (control arm bushings fixed and all).
I appreciate laughter in all forms so my car swap experience was enjoyable to me. Even though I have been driving for almost 10 years; I found myself clueless to the differences that existed between vehicles. Years before I began driving (I didn’t get my license until I was 18), I began loving Christ. And throughout my walk with him; I have led myself without his mirrors(bad idea friends), I have tried to run my life without the fuel that keeps me alive, and I have ignored repeated alarms, signs, and flashing lights that symbolized trouble. There wasn’t a difference is Christ. There was a difference in me. Jesus waited patiently on me as I tried every make, model, and color of life I wanted. He continued to send other drivers on the new roads I was testing, He continued to pick up the wrecked cars I left behind, and He continued to use the best parts of each car I test drove. As I was racing around, trying to make sense of the differences in my life; Jesus loved me. He knew I was clueless. But he also knew that I had driven the best make and model available. Unfortunately, when we allow anything to come before our love for Jesus; we are stuck at the starting line. We can drive all of the sports cars we want; but we will never go anywhere. We need to run out of gas once in awhile and have “fender benders” in Christ to keep ourselves grounded in Him. We need change and direction in order to grow in Him. But we can’t settle for the differences in our lives that occur when we put Jesus in the trunk opposed to the driver’s seat.
We have all heard the saying; “it’s just like learning how to ride a bike.” Referring to the fact that once we learn a new task we will never forget it. There aren’t exceptions to this phenomenon and we apply it over and over again throughout our lives. So why would we stop applying this concept when it comes to Jesus? Jesus will NEVER be different. And once we learn about how fantabulous He is; we may run over Him, we may shove Him in the trunk, and we may even try to exchange Him for a different make and model. But Jesus won’t allow us to forget Him; His love is too strong to watch us live clueless to the difference that awaits us when we take a permanent passenger seat next to Him.
Verse to remember: James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
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