Early yesterday, my darling car decided that it didn’t want to start. I love my dear little red car very much, and though it isn’t much as far as the pretty department goes, and it is older than a lot of the kids that I teach, it is my little red car, and I do get offended when people talk about it poorly. My little red car was a gift from God that came when I was desperate for an answer to a prayer. That little red car has taken me to Alabama on countless occasions and to Nashville and Missouri as well. We were planning on taking the little red car to Atlanta when we left for our “mission trip” (I hate that name and wish there was another name for what we are going to do with the Nightlight organization). We are not sure why my little red car decided to quit working, but in the rain and cold, I stood glaring at a car that has given many blessings and many headaches. I decided to call in for a sub for my morning classes, and I took my time finding a ride to school and set a ride up to get home from school. Honestly, it was an easy morning. I got to finish decorating Christmas ornaments from the previous weekend, and I got to visit with my dear sister-in-law on the phone while waiting for my dad to come and just fix it… which is what husbands and dads are good for right?
All that is to say that when my husband finally got home from work, it was man vs. machine in the driveway, and man won. He charged the car, let it run for awhile, and later that night, when we were headed to a basketball game for a team that my brother-in-law helps manage, it was the car my husband picked to drive. Why? Because Michael is man, and man will defeat machine. I will tell you, there is nothing better than watching my husband overcome. The night was fantastic. The game was good, and I was proud of my brother-in-law for the work that he does. I saw Houston Nutt at the game, and despite myself I got up during half-time and went to shake his hand. I swear, I remind myself of my mom so many times. My mom lives without fear in situations like those. I quickly texted my mom to tell her all that I had done. We went to the gym to run after the game, and, finally, were on our way home. It was rainy and cold, but the conversation was good.
However, the drive home ended poorly when a car going about two miles per hour decided to switch into our lane without even a blinker. Michael swerved to miss the guy, and we ended up in somebody’s yard with a blown tire and a bent rim. The man began to drive off, but Michael quickly started honking the horn and flashing the lights to get the man’s attention. The man pulled over and came to us, and it was evident from first sight, that the man was not in the right state of mind. I don’t really know the SMELL of marijuana, but its effect on the human body is unmistakable. Hopefully the issue will all be worked out. I checked on-line to find that a new tire and rim costs about 200 dollars, but the cops filed all of our insurance information, and our insurance told us they would take care of the whole issue. More than likely, Michael and I will not have to pay for the tire to be replaced. I am thankful that we were in the car instead of the truck because if we were in the truck, we might have really hurt the man.
On my drive to school today (in the truck; this time machine won), I begin to ponder all of my sin… a scary thing to think about, and how I have hurt people because of my sin. My self-indulgence has hurt more people than I know, but that is the purpose of sin right? To harm? To destroy? This man will never know that my husband and I have been saving every penny we could to afford a trip to Atlanta to work with the fight against human trafficking. If we do have to pay the 200 dollars, this man will never understand how those 200 dollars instead of going to a new tire and rim would have been used to afford gas for traveling or spend for some better charity at Passion. That man’s sin caused multiple consequences. However, I am not purposefully picking on that man, for there is not a bone in my body that fears Michael and I will not have the money to go to Atlanta (by the way if you are looking for a Christmas present for us, a $10 gas card would be perfect). Also, I am more than thankful all that was lost was a tire and rim. The whole incident just made me stop and realize what my own selfishness can do.
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