The Back Story
I’m a convertible guy. Being follicularly challenged, I love to feel the wind sweeping across my bald head and face. Even in the winter, I’ve been know to put the top down, with the heater on and windows up, just to experience the sensation of being engulfed by the outdoors. I guess you might call a convertible a tamed version of a motorcycle.
A few years ago, before we closed our IT training company, my accountant informed me that our current car, a Sebring convertible, had fully depreciated. She told me I needed to purchase a new company car, or I’d have to pay a lot more taxes. Smiling, I told her I’d be glad to comply. 😊
I had a limited amount of funds but hoped I could find a descent convertible for the money.
Using CarMax, I found a hardtop 2010 BMW convertible for a bit over $20k. And it was in one of my favorite shades of blue. 2010! You might say that is pretty old, but it only had around 38K miles, with a nice body and no history of wrecks or damage from road salt.
After the purchase, I drove it up to our regular mechanic. When I asked him, “Do you work on BM..” I couldn’t get the words out of my mouth before he gave me an emphatic. “No!”
I found another mechanic down the road that said they were not afraid of them, but that there may be situations where I would need to take it to the dealership, a scenario I hoped would never happen.
Stalled at Dawn
Not too long ago, I was driving the BMW to my early morning breakfast with my son, Michael, and our friend Seth. Soon after I navigated onto the highway, I heard an alert sound (like a doorbell) and a yellow temperature light appeared on the dashboard.
Looking at the temperature gauge, it showed that the needle was barely past the bottom temperature of 160°, probably 180°. I wondered for a moment if it was a faulty alert, but as I slowed down, approaching the first exit, a new alert sounded and the red temperature light came on. The car went into a sort of “safe mode” and slowly allowed me to pull off at the exit.
Without going into a ton of detail, between Michael, Seth, and my friend Dean, I made the meeting and eventually drove it to the auto shop after stopping multiple times to add water and allowing the engine to cool.
You might want to pull over
Later in the day, I was coming home after picking up our grandsons from school, and I got a call from the auto shop. The technician asked if it was a good time to talk. I told him I was driving, but that I could talk.
“You might want to pull over,” he advised.
That didn’t sound good to me, but I kept on driving. He ended up telling me I had a blown head gasket, which he said they couldn’t fix.
However, if I wanted them to install a new, out of the crate 2010 engine, along with a new radiator, water pump, etc., they could do it for $37.000!!! I wish he had just said we couldn’t fix it and leave it at that.
I don’t even remember what I said to him after that.
Stunned, I hung up and called Joseph, a friend of mine who works on European cars on the side. I told him what had happened. To my relief, he told me he could fix the head gasket, but it sounded like that would still be a lot of money.
But he also wondered if it might be the water pump. He told me my model has a mechanical pump which is known to fail at 50 to 60 thousand miles. My mileage was 65k.
I called the shop back to inquire about that, but they assured me it was not the water pump. 😑
Lee on the knee, Phil on the hill
When our grandsons and I got home, my bride, whom they call BeBe, had plenty of fun and snacks planned for them.
This gave me a moment to lick my wounds. I could sense a mounting stress invading my soul I hadn’t felt in a while. Almost like a mini-PTSD.
However, after spending just a little while with a three-year-old and a six-year-old, their childlike hearts wore off on me.
Like their dad, Nicholas and Zachary are extremely ticklish on their knees. So, I took time with each of them on my lap, using my fingers to walk up their legs from their ankles to their knees, where I jumped up and down as Lee on the knee and Phil on the hill. 🤣
It was hilarious. We all laughed so much!
Before long, my finger man walked back to their feet and became Pete on the feet, then Ben on the chin, Rose on the nose and Kit in the pit. I tried to stop, but Nicholas kept asking for more people to jump. 😁
“Let the little children alone… for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” (Matthew 19:14)
It’s amazing how this laughter chased the stress away!
The Next Morning
From my journal:
Morning Lord,
I woke up this morning with a deep sense of Your nearness. Sure, I’d love it if Joseph could figure out how to get my car running again for a reasonable price.
However, there’s a part about not having it in the driveway that’s a bit of a release. It’s one less thing to maintain, one less thing that could break, one less tie to the temporal world.
This seems weird, but it was truly how I was feeling.
Then I prayed a very freeing prayer.
Prayer
Lord, I truly give this car to You. Do with it as You want. And please give us wisdom on what to do, transportation wise, if it’s no longer to be ours.
Thank you so much for giving me an awareness of the joys of childlikeness yesterday and the peace of your nearness today.
I love You Father,
Amen.
Reflections
My soul seemed truly washed after bringing the situation to God.
Therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you (I Peter 5:6-7).
Two days later, we were getting ready to go to one of our other grandson’s soccer games when I got a call from Joseph:
“Hello.”
“Well, it won’t be $37,000,” he said. “It’s the water pump.”
He told me that with parts and labor he could have me driving again for a tad over $1k.
I felt immense joy. Because I do believe I’d done my best to surrender the outcome to the Lord, it felt as if He was giving me a gift right back.
I told him to go ahead. Within the week, he’d completed it and I picked it up and drove it home. Top down.
Take Aways:
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Present problems can sometimes bring back feelings of stress from the past
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Spending time playing with children and laughing can bring a lighthearted joy that can melt away feelings of stress
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Surrendering attachments to temporal items brings tremendous freedom to my soul
- I should always, always talk to God about the broken parts of this world
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7).
I’m very thankful to have a least a bit more time driving a convertible 😎
Please consider leaving a comment. Thank You.
Joy in the Journey is about the gladness of God’s nearness in the midst of life’s adventures.
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Note: Unless otherwise noted, all referenced Scripture is from the NASB 1995 Version of the Bible.
Other posts in our Everlasting Way Series:
Learning How to Overcome Emotional Numbness
Are we More Like Batman or Spider-Man
Transforming Awareness: The Power of God’s Love
Celebrating with Joy – In Memory of a Friend
Loving without Expecting Anything in Return
Like a Child: The Way Back to Wonder
Nonfiction books by the Author:
This collection of devotionals chronicles a heartfelt journey from a life of striving and self-reliance to one of growing surrender and trust in God.
Through personal stories of family struggles, cancer, grief, and unexpected trials, the devotions show that true, unshakeable joy comes not from perfect circumstances, but from the constant, loving presence of Jesus Christ.
It’s an invitation to learn to let go of our burdens and find growing peace in God’s greater story.
Because joy is rooted in God and is eternal, it doesn’t ebb and flow with the waves of circumstances. In fact, as we grow in our understanding of joy, we can even experience it more acutely when life is hard. Why? Because God uses trials to conform us into the image of Christ. With this awareness, which gives us glimpses of God’s greater purposes, we rejoice because of His masterful work to free us from needing anything but Him.
For these reasons, and many others, joy in the Lord is commanded in scripture. It’s not just a good idea, it’s vital to our journey as human beings. Rhythms of Joy
Novels by the Author:
What happens when a professor figures out how to send messages to his younger self to try and avoid the suicide of his best friend? Did he change more than he bargained for? Beyond Time
By finding two undelivered letters in an old shack deep in the woods, Cassie and Daniel unknowingly set off a series of events which uncovers a plot to wipe out a whole family. Hope Remains
Please Check out the Cola City Podcast . Discussions that impact the vision of reaching every man, woman, and child in a city.