Overcoming

I own a very old car that periodically needs maintenance. Sometimes because people have tried to break in damaging the lock, or at times just because it is old and the wiring is worn out and the headlights keep flicking on and off all night killing the battery. I have named the vehicle after an old man, because of its quirks.

You get the point.

I am not a car mechanic and tend to get very frustrated every time something goes wrong and needs to be fixed, because most often I have no idea how to fix it. So about once a month I curse the car to the deepest Hades, only to remember to be grateful a few moments later, to even own a car.

After the moment of desperation I somehow have always been able to get the problem fixed whether with the help of a mechanic, a male member of the family or a trip to the junk yard to scavenge a spare part.

My old-man-car has taught me perseverance. I have been able to overcome every obstacle and learned a thing or two about car maintenance (or at least that most mechanics like to help a woman in distress) and found that you can deal with a lot more than you thought you could. So, give it up to an old piece of metal on wheels.

Life’s Not Meant to Be Guarded But Lived

We try to live safe. We try not to get hurt. We avoid making mistakes.

Yet when three men were given talents, the one who dug his talents into the ground was rebuked.  He was the one who thought he was making the best decision by protecting what he was given. He ended up being the fool. The other two who took risks and invested their talents to some degree were congratulated.

Jesus didn’t stay at home and marvel at all the power he had. Instead he went and spent it all. For us. If God does that, what does it say to us?

“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!”
— Hunter S. Thompson