http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rev%202:4-5&version=NIV1984
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Zeph%201:12&version=NIV1984
In some ways I suppose I’m not your typical guy. One of the reasons why I say this is that I really don’t get into automobiles. I do when I drive them. (I knew what you were thinking!) But they are not a passion of mine. Certainly I like a nice looking, high quality vehicle. But I don’t drool over how they look. Or how much horsepower they have. Or how quickly they go from 0 to 60 mph. And I don’t get overly excited about the options either. (Personally, I think that sunroofs are highly overrated.) Maybe it’s because I am a guy but I don’t need a GPS either. I have been finding my way around for more than 40 years. I don’t need anything to help me.
That being said there is one feature that I really, really like. Because it is so useful. And that feature is cruise control. I thank God for whoever invented it! Now when you’re driving in the city you really don’t need it. But when you begin to drive outside of the city, when you start driving for hours at a time, it comes in very handy. I still remember our initial trip to visit St Paul Bible College back in June 1988. The trip from Niagara Falls, New York, where we lived at the time, to the other side of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, was about 1,000 miles. Up until that time in my life I had never driven that far. I was soon to find out why.
At first, taking a trip of this length is fun. It’s always fun to ‘get out of Dodge’ as they say. A sense of adventure sets in. You are going places you’ve never been before. You are seeing sights you’ve never seen before. And, in my case, I was getting to spend an entire week with Beth. By ourselves. After the arrival of children this never happens. So I was looking forward to this. Armed with our road maps (GPS wasn’t available in those days - not that I would have used it anyway!) we headed off into the sunset. (I can say this because we were basically driving west.) I don’t mind driving. I don’t know that I love it, but I don’t mind it. At the time the vehicle we owned was a ‘77 Buick LeSabre. It wasn’t a bad vehicle by any means. But it was old. And, as such, it didn’t have many of the newer features. Such as cruise control. That was unfortunate.
Well, after several hours of driving, a couple things begins to happen to a driver. First of all, the right leg begins to get tired. The problem is that as soon as you let off the gas pedal, even the slightest amount, the vehicle begins to slow down. This is not good thing to have happen on a long trip. So after a while of maintaining constant pressure on the gas, your leg gets tired. Very tired. It might even begin to cramp up. Or your hip might start to hurt. In some cases your rear end goes numb. Who knew? The simple truth is that when you are driving, there isn’t much of an opportunity to change positions. I suppose that I could have stopped more frequently. But I am a 'driven' person! (The puns keep coming.) I want to get there sooner, not later. So driving long distances ultimately becomes a test of endurance. Secondly, your right foot begins to get heavier. This translates into going faster. Now going faster is not usually a problem except that there is such a thing as a speed limit. It seems that the law enforcement personnel of each location get upset if you exceed that by too much. They pull you over. They give you things such as speeding tickets. This not only costs you money, it costs you precious time. Now your long trip has been made even longer.
I will continue the best part of our trip in tomorrow’s post
Lord, I thank you for much of the modern technology that makes my life so much easier. Things that give me more time. Things that reduce stress in my life and wear & tear on my body. They are blessings from You. Help me to use them wisely. To maintain my control over them and not allow them to end up controlling me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
That being said there is one feature that I really, really like. Because it is so useful. And that feature is cruise control. I thank God for whoever invented it! Now when you’re driving in the city you really don’t need it. But when you begin to drive outside of the city, when you start driving for hours at a time, it comes in very handy. I still remember our initial trip to visit St Paul Bible College back in June 1988. The trip from Niagara Falls, New York, where we lived at the time, to the other side of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, was about 1,000 miles. Up until that time in my life I had never driven that far. I was soon to find out why.
At first, taking a trip of this length is fun. It’s always fun to ‘get out of Dodge’ as they say. A sense of adventure sets in. You are going places you’ve never been before. You are seeing sights you’ve never seen before. And, in my case, I was getting to spend an entire week with Beth. By ourselves. After the arrival of children this never happens. So I was looking forward to this. Armed with our road maps (GPS wasn’t available in those days - not that I would have used it anyway!) we headed off into the sunset. (I can say this because we were basically driving west.) I don’t mind driving. I don’t know that I love it, but I don’t mind it. At the time the vehicle we owned was a ‘77 Buick LeSabre. It wasn’t a bad vehicle by any means. But it was old. And, as such, it didn’t have many of the newer features. Such as cruise control. That was unfortunate.
Well, after several hours of driving, a couple things begins to happen to a driver. First of all, the right leg begins to get tired. The problem is that as soon as you let off the gas pedal, even the slightest amount, the vehicle begins to slow down. This is not good thing to have happen on a long trip. So after a while of maintaining constant pressure on the gas, your leg gets tired. Very tired. It might even begin to cramp up. Or your hip might start to hurt. In some cases your rear end goes numb. Who knew? The simple truth is that when you are driving, there isn’t much of an opportunity to change positions. I suppose that I could have stopped more frequently. But I am a 'driven' person! (The puns keep coming.) I want to get there sooner, not later. So driving long distances ultimately becomes a test of endurance. Secondly, your right foot begins to get heavier. This translates into going faster. Now going faster is not usually a problem except that there is such a thing as a speed limit. It seems that the law enforcement personnel of each location get upset if you exceed that by too much. They pull you over. They give you things such as speeding tickets. This not only costs you money, it costs you precious time. Now your long trip has been made even longer.
I will continue the best part of our trip in tomorrow’s post
Lord, I thank you for much of the modern technology that makes my life so much easier. Things that give me more time. Things that reduce stress in my life and wear & tear on my body. They are blessings from You. Help me to use them wisely. To maintain my control over them and not allow them to end up controlling me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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