A friend mentioned that his family auto is approaching 100,000 miles, and he is about to embark on the annual pilgrimage back to his Arkansas roots from the Northeast.
That reminded me of another thing for which I'm thankful this season. My wife's car, a 1998 Oldsmobile, has 230,000 miles on it. We put a new engine in it in the Summer of 2005. That engine now has over 70,000 miles. The paint is starting to peel, crack, and generally just look pretty bad, so last week I bought some sanding material, primer, and white paint. I sanded the spots where the paint has peeled and primed it, then carefully laid down a coat of paint. [All of this of course from spray cans bought in a local parts house.] I was pretty proud of it. Everything was white again. No rust spots. I thought, "Wow! She'll certainly be happy to drive this for another 200,000 miles."
Then I asked her what she thought of it. She replied, "It looks like you did it." I'm still not exactly sure what that means, but I have the growing suspicion that it was not entirely complimentary. So now I'm thinking, "She really likes that car. Maybe I need to just put a new paint job one it."
I recently bought three new tires for the car. There was a pretty severe shake and shimmy at about 60 miles per hour which continued up to 70. It felt like a tire out of balance. Alas, the new tires did not cure it. Neither, did the patch up paint job distract her from the fact of the shake and shimmy. What's a man to do? I wonder if I turn the white side walls out, that will buy me some more time.
The car has an electric antenna. It has gotten bent and will not go completely down, but that's not a big problem. Neither is the fact that the cassette player no longer works. Now, those ball joints on the front end which are beginning to have considerable slack, that might be a teensy bit of the problem. {Shouldn't they last longer than a couple hundred thousand miles on rough South Louisiana streets and roads?] I guess those new tires and my patch up paint job are simply not going to cover up the real problem. Someone recently told me that I'm trying to treat an old worn out and used up horse which should have already been put out to pasture like a three year old colt.
All of which brings me back to what I'm thankful for in this matter. The loving God of Glory has provided for us when we had absolutely no resources. He continues to sustain us during these lean times, and I'm married to a woman who doesn't have to have a new car every year or two.
I'm thankful for my God who has given me such a life partner as Diane. Her attitude about her car is a snapshot of her life.
That reminded me of another thing for which I'm thankful this season. My wife's car, a 1998 Oldsmobile, has 230,000 miles on it. We put a new engine in it in the Summer of 2005. That engine now has over 70,000 miles. The paint is starting to peel, crack, and generally just look pretty bad, so last week I bought some sanding material, primer, and white paint. I sanded the spots where the paint has peeled and primed it, then carefully laid down a coat of paint. [All of this of course from spray cans bought in a local parts house.] I was pretty proud of it. Everything was white again. No rust spots. I thought, "Wow! She'll certainly be happy to drive this for another 200,000 miles."
Then I asked her what she thought of it. She replied, "It looks like you did it." I'm still not exactly sure what that means, but I have the growing suspicion that it was not entirely complimentary. So now I'm thinking, "She really likes that car. Maybe I need to just put a new paint job one it."
I recently bought three new tires for the car. There was a pretty severe shake and shimmy at about 60 miles per hour which continued up to 70. It felt like a tire out of balance. Alas, the new tires did not cure it. Neither, did the patch up paint job distract her from the fact of the shake and shimmy. What's a man to do? I wonder if I turn the white side walls out, that will buy me some more time.
The car has an electric antenna. It has gotten bent and will not go completely down, but that's not a big problem. Neither is the fact that the cassette player no longer works. Now, those ball joints on the front end which are beginning to have considerable slack, that might be a teensy bit of the problem. {Shouldn't they last longer than a couple hundred thousand miles on rough South Louisiana streets and roads?] I guess those new tires and my patch up paint job are simply not going to cover up the real problem. Someone recently told me that I'm trying to treat an old worn out and used up horse which should have already been put out to pasture like a three year old colt.
All of which brings me back to what I'm thankful for in this matter. The loving God of Glory has provided for us when we had absolutely no resources. He continues to sustain us during these lean times, and I'm married to a woman who doesn't have to have a new car every year or two.
I'm thankful for my God who has given me such a life partner as Diane. Her attitude about her car is a snapshot of her life.
Here is Diane showing
the size of some
gargantuan Golden Rods
growingbeside our
house in Slidell, LA.
the size of some
gargantuan Golden Rods
growingbeside our
house in Slidell, LA.
- Acquiring things for herself has never been a driving force in her life.
- She continues to work in nursing to enable us to serve smaller churches.
- She gives herself to ministering to the preschoolers so that others can participate in worship.
- She is willing to do the most menial of tasks with a sense of purpose and joy.
- She loves her children and grandchildren with a sacrificial love.
- She treats everyone with respect and dignity.
- She demonstrates her love for Christ in her everyday activities.
