Tag Archives: bride

(The Everlasting Way) You Might want to Pull Over

September 18, 2026 robuck4@aol.com 10 Comments

The Back Story

I’m a convertible guy. Being follically 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 Carvana, 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 left 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).

I felt like I had truly given this care to my Lord

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:

Present problems can sometimes bring back feelings of stress from the past
Spending time playing with children and laughing can bring a lighthearted joy that can melt away feelings of stress
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. ⁷And 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

Embracing God’s Amazing Love

Are we More Like Batman or Spider-Man

Transforming Awareness: The Power of God’s Love

Minding Your Busyness

Our Deepest Longings Filled

Rules Don’t Rule

Mice in the Sock Drawer

Turning Gainers into Drainers

Until the Darkness Fades

Courage Rising

Recovering

Celebrating with Joy – In Memory of a Friend

Dying to Self

Loving without Expecting Anything in Return

We are Barabbas

The Joy of Being Poured Out

Like a Child: The Way Back to Wonder

Loving Like Joe

Rob Buck

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.

Finding Joy in Life’s Moments

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.

Rejoicing in Life's Moments, Replenish

(The Everlasting Way) Recovering

January 23, 2026 robuck4@aol.com 4 Comments

Basking in the beginning of a new year. It is chilly outside, but we are cozy inside. It’s so quiet. 😊

Jack, our two-year-old Aussie, is constantly making sure we’re okay. He’s been spending a lot of time checking on my bride lately as she is recovering from shingles and life-threatening clot removal surgery.

Today I want to take some time to align my insides with what’s happened externally. I don’t always take the time to do this.

Emotions from multiple difficulties tend to stack up in my soul and grow stale, numbing my tenderness. But today I need to steward my heart. It’s part of our recovery.

A Little Entomology

Re-covery – The word recover comes from Latin recuperare (“to get again, regain”), via Old French recovrer, meaning to return to a former state, health, or possession. [1]

I love ‘re’ words. There are several that work well as I unpack my heart.

• Reflect — to bend your attention back toward truth

• Replenish — to fill again what has been poured out

• Rejoice — to delight deeply, to let joy rise anew

Reflect

Reflect, to bend my mind back toward the truth.

The truth is that my wife could have been blinded by a severe case of shingles. She could have had a stroke or lost her life with the blood clots in her leg and lungs.

Allowing these facts to pass the stubborn ‘No Entrance’ gate of my inner heart, I cry: “I could have easily lost by bride of forty-four years!”

The reality of these recent happenings is taking root deep within me. My eyes tear up.

Tears are rare for me, and I don’t hold back. My soul shakes a bit to go along with the tear, and soft sobs emerge.

With my eyes closed, I feel a gentle pressure on my arm.

My eyes open to find Jack’s paw on my arm, checking on me. Australian Shepherds are that way. I can learn a lot from him.

Replenish

re – (again) + plenus (full) to fill up again, to restore fullness

My tears don’t last long, and they never erupt into anything more than gentle sobs, but I’m glad for them.

I turn my thoughts to the word replenish.

During a crisis, you can’t easily tell how your soul becomes drained. But I could tell I was getting discouraged. It can be disheartening when someone you love is suffering and there’s not much you can do to ease their pain.

I felt this before during the deaths of my father, mother and sister. Seeing them suffer, I did what I could, but their pain remained.

In our present situation, many folks have rallied around us.

On the first day of the emergency, even before we knew how serious the situation was, Dean, Kevin, James, and Dave showed up at the first hospital.

On the day of the surgery, our kids came from all over the place; our brother Bill flew down. Elder Rob was with us in the waiting room.

The Andes, Anna, the Millers, the Hills, James, Kelsey and Becky brought food, and many others offered. Our kids cleaned up our house and even put clean sheets on our bed. Folks from our church, our neighborhood and long-term friends were constantly praying for us, checking in and offering help.

The presence of love replenishes. It was happening during the crisis, and it’s happening now.

And now, as I pause and draw near to God, though He never leaves me, His nearness, His comfort is replenishing me. My soul is being brought back to fullness. 😎

Rejoice

re–(intensive) + gaudere (to delight)–to delight deeply, to experience joy again

Being brought again to fullness in His presence, my soul senses joy.

In Your right hand there are pleasures forever (Psalm 16:11b NASB)

He is joy. All the “little joys” of this temporal place never satisfy us. Only God gives full joy.

But how can suffering and joy co-exist? The following answers to this question are not exhaustive.

Paul: For we don’t desire to have you uninformed, brothers, concerning our affliction which happened to us in Asia: that we were weighed down exceedingly, beyond our power, so much that we despaired even of life. 9 Yes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead (II Corinthians 1:8-9).

When our hard times stretch us beyond our abilities, it helps us realize our limitations. We can give up or we can trust in God.

James: Count it all joy, my brothers, when you fall into various temptations, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing (James 1:2-4).

Testing builds our endurance and perseverance, teaching us not to depend on circumstances to be okay. In Christ, we lack nothing.

Peter: In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved in various trials, 7 that the proof of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes, even though it is tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ — 8 whom, not having known, you love. In him, though now you don’t see him, yet believing, you rejoice greatly with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory, 9 receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls (I Peter 1:6-9).

Trials purify and strengthen our faith.