My 1951 Ford
When I was 15 I started working in the local drug store. I would ride my bike to work after school and on Saturdays. I would clean and stock the shelves, sweep the floor, and wash the windows. It was not very demanding, but it paid $1.00 per hour. I spent my money like most 15 year olds of my day – baseball cards, French fries and Green Rivers (carbonated water with lime syrup). McDonalds (I lived close to the third McDonalds ever built), and church offerings. I even saved a little for I was saving up to buy a car.
Now my dream car was a yellow and black 1957 Chevy. It had “four on the floor” (manual transmission with the shift between the driver and the passenger seats), an exhaust system that roared and an engine that produced speed rather than miles per gallon. I test drove the car. I yearned for the car. I begged Mom and Dad to lend me the money ($300) to buy the car. They said, “No, save your money.”
I worked. I saved. I turned 16 and was ready to buy my first car. I checked the balance in my savings passbook – $110. That was a long way from the purchase price I needed, but just happened to be $10 more than what I needed to buy a green, 1951 Ford. It had a manual transmission – on the steering column. It had an exhaust system that was designed to be quiet (a plus when coming home from a late night date) and an engine that produced some power. It was mine.
I was very excited on the first day I drove my car to work. I kept looking out the window to see if it was really there. It was. Every time I looked, my car was there. When I got out of work – my car was waiting for me. I drove it to the bowling alley – it waited for me. I drove it to school – it was there when I got out.
My car was special to me. I could go through the day and think about it – dream about where I would go, what I would do. It was there for me. It carried me to work – to school – to the drive-in – and to home.
David writes in Psalm 139,
“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.”
My 1951 Ford is gone – God is not. He is with me – always. He is with me when I go to work, when I go to school, when I go to the drive-in and when I go home. He is faithful. The excitement I had when thinking about my car pales in comparison to the excitement I feel when I think about what an awesome God I have. He is the God of the Universe – yet He counts my hairs. He created the earth – and He answers my prayers to find my car keys. He gives me strength, joy and peace.
Prayer: Thank you God for being there – always – unconditionally. Amen
Now my dream car was a yellow and black 1957 Chevy. It had “four on the floor” (manual transmission with the shift between the driver and the passenger seats), an exhaust system that roared and an engine that produced speed rather than miles per gallon. I test drove the car. I yearned for the car. I begged Mom and Dad to lend me the money ($300) to buy the car. They said, “No, save your money.”
I worked. I saved. I turned 16 and was ready to buy my first car. I checked the balance in my savings passbook – $110. That was a long way from the purchase price I needed, but just happened to be $10 more than what I needed to buy a green, 1951 Ford. It had a manual transmission – on the steering column. It had an exhaust system that was designed to be quiet (a plus when coming home from a late night date) and an engine that produced some power. It was mine.
I was very excited on the first day I drove my car to work. I kept looking out the window to see if it was really there. It was. Every time I looked, my car was there. When I got out of work – my car was waiting for me. I drove it to the bowling alley – it waited for me. I drove it to school – it was there when I got out.
My car was special to me. I could go through the day and think about it – dream about where I would go, what I would do. It was there for me. It carried me to work – to school – to the drive-in – and to home.
David writes in Psalm 139,
“How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.”
My 1951 Ford is gone – God is not. He is with me – always. He is with me when I go to work, when I go to school, when I go to the drive-in and when I go home. He is faithful. The excitement I had when thinking about my car pales in comparison to the excitement I feel when I think about what an awesome God I have. He is the God of the Universe – yet He counts my hairs. He created the earth – and He answers my prayers to find my car keys. He gives me strength, joy and peace.
Prayer: Thank you God for being there – always – unconditionally. Amen