LEARNING LESSONS FROM A FORD

I've told you about my first, second, and fourth cars. There’s not much to tell about my third one but I’ll share what I remember with you anyway. I was between jobs at the time and didn't have much money, so I was excited when my uncle told me I could get a car for fifty dollars. Fifty dollars! Wow! That may seem like a very small amount of money now but back then you could get a good used car from an individual between three hundred and five hundred dollars.

This car didn’t run, of course, but my uncle worked on cars all the time and he said he would get it running for me. The man who owned the car said he didn’t really know what was wrong with it. It just died one day and wouldn’t start back. I wanted it so bad that I gave him the money before I even looked at it.

I don’t remember a lot about the car. I have a picture in my mind but there’s just not much detail there. I remember my uncle taking me to get it. I remember that it was white, and I think it was a Ford. It had been sitting in an overgrown field for several years, so the paint was faded and the tires were flat.

We figured we might have to tow it to my uncle’s house so he could work on it but he wanted to see if it would start first. He raised the hood and put a battery on and hooked up the wires. After we knocked off a few mud dauber nests, he poured a little gas into the carburetor to prime it. Then I got in the car and put the key in the ignition and turned it over. It started so I kept trying.

Finally, after several tries, my uncle said, “Woah! It ain’t gonna crank, boys. There’s a hole in the motor the size of my fist. Come and look.” With my shoulders drooping from disappointment, I stepped out of the driver’s seat to take a look. Sure enough, there was a big hole in the motor on the driver’s side. It had slung a rod. No wonder it had stopped running with the previous owner. I was disappointed. There was no way to fix it short of replacing the motor, which, back then, could be done for only a few hundred bucks, but I didn’t have the money, so told the guy he could keep the fifty bucks if he would keep the car and I just left it there and went back home.

As I was thinking about the lesson that could be learned from this story, I realized there are several.

1) Sometimes we think we can fix something but find out there’s nothing we can do. In those situations, we just have to give it to God and let it go. There’s no need to get angry or discouraged. That usually only makes things worse, and it’s not good for our health.

2) Many times we want something really badly, but when we get it, we realize it wasn’t what we needed at all. That shouldn’t discourage us from going after something we want later, but we should be more cautious the next time, and not jump into something without thorough investigation. We need the grace of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to make good decisions. Always ask God for guidance.

3)We should not give up on others because they may not be able to do what they thought they could do. Sometimes things just happen that no one could have predicted. My uncle couldn’t fix that car for me, but when I had problems with my next car, I called him for help.

4) Just like that hole in the car motor, there is a hole in our hearts that only Jesus can fill. Many times, we try to fill that void with drugs, alcohol, sex, work, dangerous thrills, Social media, and a number of other things. Some people spend a lifetime searching for the perfect thing to fill that empty space, not realizing there’s only one thing that will do it.

A close personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Messiah, brings peace, calms our fears, and fills the emptiness in our lives. That’s the only thing that will truly do it. Anything else is equivalent to “trying to place a square peg in a round hole.” Impossible.

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LEARNING FROM A GREMLIN

I remember buying what I think was my fourth car. It was a Gremlin. It was yellow with black trim. It was different and unique in shape from most cars on the road at the time, so I guess that’s what attracted me to it. I found out quickly that the fuel gauge was very accurate. Thankfully, I was almost home when it hit E and stopped in the middle of the road. I had to push it the rest of the way. That’s the car I was driving when I almost went off the embankment because a girl fell over on the stirring wheel. If you missed that story, you can read all about it in the post called, *3 Girls, 3 Guys, And A Gremlin.

I loved that car but it was used and I didn’t have it long. I was driving down a two-lane highway one day and the car in front of me was going a bit slower than I wanted to go, so I decided to go around it. I had seen people drop their gear shifter on automatic cars down a gear in order to get up more speed to pass another car. They called it passing gear. Well, I needed some more speed so that’s what I did. I wish I hadn’t, though, because when I did, the car down-shifted hard and started vibrating really bad. I heard a terrible noise like pieces of the motor falling off onto the road. I looked in the rear-view mirror and saw those pieces sliding all over the highway behind me.

What a mess. What a disappointment. I only had the thing for a few weeks. I stopped as quickly as I could on a little gravel road. To my surprise, the car was still running so I drove just a bit further to the gas station and went in to call my uncle. He came and looked at it and confirmed that the car had slung a rod. I told him it was still running when I made it to the store, so he told me to start it up and see if it would still run. I did, and it did, so he followed me as I drove it to his house. That was a sad day. I miss that car sometimes and on the rare occasion when I see a yellow Gremlin, I’m reminded of those thrilling days.

I have had so many used cars over the years that I doubt I could remember them all. I do remember at least ten cars and a truck from the time I was sixteen until I was twenty-three, though. Some were used, some were more used than others, and some were really used. Some had been well maintained, but some had not. The ones that had been taken care of were in better shape, of course, and they lasted longer. The ones that had been neglected were in bad shape and didn’t last long at all. I’m sure all of them would have lasted longer if I had taken better care of them myself, but I didn’t. I was a young man with a heavy foot and I drove too fast and was hard on my cars. I didn’t have the oil changed regularly and I didn’t really check it regularly. In short, I neglected them.

I did the same thing with my body for years. I ate what I wanted. I drank what I wanted. I drank alcohol and used drugs. I partied and I stayed out all night. I took drugs to stay awake. I took drugs to help me sleep. I gained weight, then starved myself to lose it. I took laxatives and weight loss drugs. Even after I stopped drinking and doing drugs, I spent lots of late nights playing video games, reading comic books, and organizing baseball cards. All that abuse to my body, plus the wear and tear from several strenuous jobs and two car wrecks have taken a toll on me. Now, my body is worn out and I’m in constant pain.

I’m thankful to God for helping me to give up those bad habits, but the damage is done. What bothers me the most is that a lot of it could have been avoided. If I had been more concerned about my health back then, I would still have a lot more good years left in me. The Bible says our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us (1 Corinthians 6:19). We need to take care of his temple. Our bodies are like machines. Just like those machines, if our bodies don’t have regular maintenance they don’t last near as long as they will if we take good care of them.

Our bodies can’t live without WATER so that would be a good place to start. We need to drink plenty of water. REST is very important as well, so we need to try to get eight hours of sleep each night. We need to get plenty of fresh AIR, so walking outside and doing other kinds of EXERCISE outdoors is a great way to kill two birds with one stone.

Another very important thing we need is SUNSHINE. Not all, but many living things need sunshine to be healthy. Of course, too much sunlight can be harmful. We need it in moderate amounts. Too much of anything can be bad for you, so we need to practice MODERATION in every area of our lives and we need to avoid putting things into our bodies that will harm them. We need to develop good eating habits and eat only foods that will promote good health. Good NUTRITION is imperative to maintaining both physical and mental health. Both of those are connected to our spiritual health. Usually, if we are lacking in one of these three areas, the other two will be affected. We need to round it all out by TRUSTING GOD to provide for all our needs and following his instructions in the Bible. All these things will help our bodies and minds to feel better and last longer.

Just like regular maintenance on a car can prevent costly repairs or even the death of the car, regular maintenance on our bodies can help keep us from getting sick and dying at an early age. Being healthy is very important, so we need to take care of our bodies so we can be as healthy as possible and enjoy life while we live here on this earth.

*3 Girls, 3 Guys, And A Gremlin

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MY FIRST CAR

My first car was a slightly used, green, Ford. I don’t think I ever knew what year, or exactly what kind it was. I was just so happy to be getting a car of my own, I don’t even think I asked. I got it from my dad when I was sixteen years old. He and my mom were separated, and he asked me to come to live with him. So I did. He got me a job where he worked, and we got to know each other a little better.

I remember him giving me the keys, along with a speech. I don’t recall what he said, other than something about keeping a check on the oil. I was too excited to pay much attention, and besides, I knew how to drive a car. I had been driving my cousins’ cars for some time. I didn’t think I needed any pointers. It felt so good to have my own car. Now I could go anywhere I wanted, any time I wanted. Freedom at last!

I don’t remember what I said, but I’m sure it wasn’t much more than okay. I wanted to get on the road as soon as possible and get my new adventure started, but I didn’t get far until trouble found me. The oil light came on just a few miles down the road, and that could only mean one thing. The car had to be low on oil. I stopped at the first store I came to. I got a quart of oil and poured it into the engine. I was back on the road in no time, headed to my grandma’s house.

Before I even got to her house, the oil light came on again. So I stopped at another store to get another quart of oil. I was thinking to myself, “I’ve bought an oil drinker.” So, instead of just getting one quart, I bought several, just in case that light came on again when I wasn’t near a store. I put another quart into the engine and took off again. I finally made it to my grandmother’s and visited for a while. Then I was back on the road again.

That light came on several times that day, and I kept pouring oil in and driving, driving, driving. I went to see my cousins, and friends for a while, and I ended up at my other grandmother’s house because she lived close to dad. When I started to leave from there, the car would not start. I tried everything I knew, which wasn’t much, but still, it just wouldn’t start. When the battery was finally drained, and there was no chance of getting it started without help, I walked back to dad’s house and told him the news.

He went and got the car later, and had it running in a couple of days. It turns out that the car wasn’t leaking oil like I thought it was. The problem was the oil light. It would come on sometimes, and stay on until the car was turned off. When it was started back up, it would be off for a while, then come back on later. The car didn’t need any more oil, but I was putting a quart in every time the light came on. Daddy drained the oil out and let me know I had put over a gallon too much in that engine. It had overflowed, and got into the starter, and ruined it. That’s why it wouldn’t start.

Ugghhh! I felt so stupid. My first car and I only got to drive it around for a few hours before I ruined it. I can just hear me now saying to myself, “Why does this always happen to me?” Well, for one thing, I didn’t listen when my dad was trying to tell me about the car, and the oil light. I thought I knew all I needed to know. I found out I didn’t know all I thought I did.

Over the years, I’ve also gotten in trouble several times by not listening to my heavenly Father. How about you? Many of us think we know all we need to know at times, but we need to remember this old phrase, “Father Knows Best.” He has given us clear instructions in his word, the Holy Bible, and he is just a prayer away at all times. He loves us and wants what’s best for us. So, listen closely to what he has to say every day. It will save you a lot of grief later.

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© 2016 Teddy Lynn – All Rights Reserved

My books are available in paperback and digital format on Amazon @ 
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