Old Cars, New Cars?

Didn’t see that one coming! Everyday life seems to motor on for most of us with few, if any surprises. You know the routine. Maybe that’s it. It’s just the regular routine. Get up, do the regular activity, have supper, waste three hours in front of the tv and then go to bed so you can be rested enough for tomorrow. Sound familiar?
We do the same thing when we get in our cars. Get in, turn it on, put it in drive, (reverse for those who were not too tired to back in last night) and then drive away. We do it sometimes without thinking. It’s called an automatic for a reason. Have you ever driven somewhere and can’t remember how you got there? That aside, look around and see so many other people doing the same thing as you. Same speed, same expression on their faces, and even the same cookie cutter cars.
That is when I didn’t see it coming. A tan, 1973 Plymouth Scamp drives right by me the other day. Life was going along, the driving was about the same, and then . . . There goes this guy in this shiny beige four-door sedan. Gives you a little wake up call. You start thinking back and say to yourself, “I remember when I had a ____(you can fill in the blank yourself) 1969 AMC Rebel 4dr the same colour”.
In a moment you (read that guys) think back and relive the past. It may go on for a while, until, until you remember getting under the car with a coat hanger to tie up a dragging exhaust. It was hot too. Or how about having to check the oil at least once a week. We have not opened the hood of the Honda in five years. Then there are all the other things that went with cars from that time period.
Some recollections make us realize that reality today isn’t so bad. The car you drive today is far different then the one you bought ten years ago and definitely twenty years ago. I overheard someone say that cars today are so expensive compared to what they used to be. Moving my mind from the past, I start to think about that. We have better built cars now, just as Doug Mordue. They have more gadgets to make driving better and simpler. And safety? Did you know that in 1955 Ford put seatbelts on their list of options but GM didn’t because they thought that people would think they were unsafe cars?
Before I get to the spiritual connection, I have something to end with. In 1974 I purchased a new Ford for $3700. If all went well and I drove the average length of time, the warranty told me that it would start to cost me money after the third year and 40,000 miles. And it did. In 2003 we bought Deb’s Honda. It has now traveled 210,000 Km. and we have only replaced one set of tires and one set of front brakes. Now tell me what’s cheaper?
Time changes and so has life. Do you know how it has changed? It has changed by getting better and better. And it does so, when we learn from the past and make things better and better . . . even our lives. We can get out of our routine by doing one thing new or differently every week. Being a Christ follower is very similar. It gets better and better when we learn from our past and make our relationship with Christ better and better.
Sorry to tell you, but that takes work, and study, and prayer, and fellowship, and participating in helping others. Now, think to yourself, which one of those five is routine and needs a shake up?
Something to think about
Rob