Worth the Drive... Even Damage to Your Bimmer

You may remember that I trekked to Kansas a few weeks ago to bury a great aunt, and that my just-restored classic car was accidentally backed into by a cousin (click here to read post). Well, since then I've made two more trips to Kansas to see and bury an aunt - and making another tomorrow to pick up my father who has been visiting with family. I've been to Kansas more in the past three weeks than I have in the past three years. And I'm not necessarily proud of that. I should have been making that 450 mile trip more often to see family.


Well... the BMW is fixed. Runs and looks great. And while I'm not the best on enduring long trips in the car, I have found these trips worth the drive. I have remade a connection with my family. And though my mother has been dead for over seven years, I have begun to find peace in a troubled relationship that reminds me that without her, I would have no life and would have been deprived of the gifts of wonderful aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I know that I haven't been the only one burying loved ones. Members of our church had to bury their mother/mother-in-law/grandmother this past weekend as well. And they made quite a drive to do it. What makes my heart leap is that many of our church members also made that long drive so that a family wouldn't be burying a loved one by themselves.

In a world where self-centeredness seems to be the norm, it is wonderful to know that the Church doesn't mind being counter-cultural and willing to make sacrifices for our loved ones, in the example of Christ.

Some things are worth the drive.

Pax,
Sky+

You're Never Done - Nor Is God

As you read a few posts below, I've had a nagging problem with my car. After weeks of checking vacuum lines, spraying choke/carb cleaner around to check for leaks, and nearly running the batteries down on my multimeter testing wiring and equipment, I was ready to give up and go to a mechanic. I gave it one more shot, and finally tracked down my hesitation problem - a loose pulse sensor connection. Easy fix. After 16 months, my 17-year old car was restored! Finished! Done!!

So I left for Kansas yesterday to help bury my last great aunt, and drove the Bimmer. It ran like a charm. I listened to great music. When I got west of Van Buren, Missouri, into the Ozarks, I was driving it like the sports car it was meant to be; hugging corners, feeling the speed and thrill of doing so - as well as making great time. I didn't set any land speed records, nor drove recklessly. I was just able to do a little more with a car that was built to do so.

When I got to my destination yesterday evening of Pittsburg, KS, I picked an aunt up at the motel we're staying at and went to the home of my great aunt's only living child (in downtown Curranville - dare you to find THAT on a map!). She and her husband, Phyllis and Eddie, have always been very gracious people and got the gift of hospitality that my great aunt was so well known for very honestly.

When I was a kid, I always thought Eddie was one cool dude; he was a star football player in high school, he worked on cars, and restored a classic car for each of his children and gave them to them as a gift - a super guy. So it was with a little bit of irony that after he went outside to help a neighbor get her car turned around in the yard, he came back inside and said, "Sky... I just backed into your car."

Uh oh.


I went outside with him, got a flashlight, and surveyed the damage. It wasn't really that bad; the SUV was much higher than my car, and the receiving hitch had struck my car mid-grill and wrinkled the hood a bit. With a little wire, I put the grill back together. It'll get me home. But crap... I just finished fixing this car up. What rotten luck! I thought I was finished and done!!

Of course, Eddie was sick - in fact, I think he was a lot sicker than me about it - being a guy who's been fixing cars a lot longer than me. But as I told him, heck, any of us could have done it, and it didn't help that my black car blended perfectly with the pitch black of the Kansas prairie. All in all, it's not bad, and could have been a heck of a lot worse. Material things can always be fixed. But it dawned on me on the way back to the motel... I'm not finished with my car after all.

The good news is, God isn't done or finished with us yet, either. We are all in various states of imperfection, and we all succumb to various sins from time to time. I am glad God doesn't give up on us, nor thinks that He's ever "done" with us.

The prophet Jeremiah said that the word of God came to him, saying: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart."

God knows us very, very well. And even when we think we're finished and done, God is not yet finished. And when we fall or crash - God picks us up again, heals us, and indeed, fixes us.

Thanks be to God.

Pax,
Sky+

Patience - A Virtue and a Necessity

This is my car - a 1991 BMW 325i. When I bought it, I had intentions of it just being a beater car, cheap but dependable transportation. The more I've messed with it, tho, I've found out that the two owners before me took pretty good care of it. So while I wouldn't give it classic status, it really doesn't look bad. It drives like a dream (goes way too fast and corners like a Porsche), and will be the closest that this preacher ever comes to driving a luxury sports car. It was a steal for what I paid for it, and still a steal even considering the money (a little over a $1000) I've put in it to restore it. Much cheaper than car payments in this day and age - all my vehicles are paid for!!!

One of the reasons I bought the car was to tinker with something. It's an old hobby I've always enjoyed (I have a '93 motorcycle too). But, just like any hobby or endeavor, nothing is ever perfect or peachy.

I've got a hesitation problem in the engine, but only when it's warm. So, I've spent about 20 minutes a day trying to eliminate problems one by one. So far, no luck.

I've put in new plugs and plug wires. Replaced the oxygen sensor. Cleaned and tested the idle control valve. Checked and rechecked vacuum lines. Checked the catalytic converter. Sprayed carb cleaner around areas to check for good seals. There are still plenty of other things left to check: air flow meter, thermo-time switch sensor, engine timing, knock retard sensor. I'm praying it's not a bad ECM (computer). Yes, the car's old, but it does have a computer - and they aren't cheap. If I don't have any luck in a few days, I'll give in and go to a real mechanic.

However, I know that, just like me, he'll have to be patient. These problems rarely fix themselves - they need time, examination, and discernment. Sometimes, there is no quick fix (even when you hook up the diagnostics to the computer!). Bet you know where I'm going with this now...

Lenten disciplines call for patience. Hearing what God might be saying to us requires patience. And working with others, in making disciples and doing Kingdom work, requires patience. We humans require some tinkering on occasion.

I found the following prayer for patience. It is a good one - and an honest one:

Gracious God, it’s so hard to wait. To wait for new things to happen in my life. To wait for you to answer my prayers. To wait for the open doors that may lead me into a new way of being. During the time of waiting, it seems that all I can think of is having what it is I am waiting for. At times I feel weary of asking and waiting, and I wonder if you really hear my prayers at all, if you are ignoring me, or if you are simply refusing to give me my heart’s desire. A part of me knows that you want my best, and that your time is not my time, but Lord, it is still so hard to wait. Deepen my trust, O Lord, during the times when my heart longs for what can only come in the fullness of time. Give me a calm assurance that your will for me is grander than anything I could ever imagine. Still my mind and heart in your love so that I am mindful of the grace you are draping around me every single day, every single moment. I ask this for the sake of your love. - ©1999-2007 explorefaith.org

In the name of the One who is patient with us, even Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pax,
Sky+

Restoring, Renewing, and Trying Something New

Last week I did all three.

Restoring. My first car was a 1967 VW Beetle. I took it apart and put it back together twice, and learned a lot about working on cars from it. The transmission on my truck is starting to act goofy, so I bought a “new” car – a 1991 BMW 325i. My wife’s brother-in-law (many thanks, Larry) and I put in about 5 hours of work on it on Friday, and it runs like a top. It needs a few other odds and ends that I’m scared to do myself, but it runs great. It’ll be a labor of love restoring it, and a slow process, but I’ve decided to have fun doing it.

Renewing. My family went to visit my wife’s sister for Thanksgiving. Her family, along with my mother-in-law, had a wonderful time together. Food, family, fellowship – what a blessing, and what a gift. We had forgotten what a great time we have with each other when we gather. I also realized how mentally tired I have been for the past several months. While I’ve done a lot better job keeping my body in shape in the past few months, my mind and soul have needed renewal and attention too. Balance is important in any renewal.

Trying Something New. I am a creature of tradition and habit, and at my age don’t take on new things very easily or often. So when my wife’s brother-in-law suggested that I try dirt-bike riding over the weekend, I initially balked; I had visions of an emergency room visit, consults with an orthopedic surgeon, etc. I’ve ridden motorcycles for a while, but never off-road. But I tried it… and found that I wouldn’t need a whole lot of arm-twisting to enjoy it. I had good teachers (brother-in-law mentioned above and my nephew, Matt).

You know… restoring, renewing, and trying something new are things we as Christians should not only embrace – we should be experts in it!! If we are to be in the world yet not of it, how else can we preach and teach in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit? Restoring the truth and tradition that the saints of old handed down to us, renewing ourselves and the Church so that both may be effective vessels of sharing the Good News, And trying something new? Well, at one time pipe organs, electricity, indoor plumbing, and computers were unheard of in churches, and probably frowned upon (i.e., can anything good come out of anything new?!?).

What might God be trying to get us to restore, renew, and try? In the name of Jesus.

Sky+