Cruise Control - Part II

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%201:32&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%206:25&version=NIV1984

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Rev%203:2&version=NIV1984

So as we continue on our 1,000 mile journey, I begin to get fatigued.  Especially since I am doing all of the driving.  Oh, and did I mention the fire?  Yes, we had a fire on this trip.  It happened when we stopped for lunch in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  It seems that the underbody on our car had rusted through.  During the first leg of our trip the pressure from Beth’s feet on the floor caused the carpeting to come into contact with the catalytic converter below.  You may not know this but catalytic converters get very hot.  Well, the constant contact of the carpeting with the catalytic converter caused the inevitable.  The carpet below Beth’s feet caught on fire.  Talk about an emergency!  Beth looks down and there are flames licking at her feet!  She moves her feet to the sides and is beginning to panic.  Meanwhile, I also see said flames inside our car.  Since we are in traffic I do what any other driver would do.  I speed up.  Do you have any idea what happens when you speed up and supply more air flow to a fire?  If you don’t, I can tell you.  The flames get higher!  Finally, I managed to pull of to the side of the road and we extinguished the flames.  Long story short, we managed to get a piece of wood over the hole and continue on our journey.  I guess at this point I should also mention that another valuable feature we did not have in our vehicle was air conditioning.  Enough said.

Remember how I mentioned earlier the positives of taking a long trip?  The anticipation?  The excitement?  The new sites?  Well, those vanished long ago, somewhere about mile marker 300.  Now I am in conquer mode.  I am so sick and tired of driving I can barely stand it.  (That’s why I am sitting!)  It is summer.  The day time temperature is 99 degrees.  The heat from the road combined with the heat from the catalytic converter had made the inside of our vehicle into an oven.  Forget the fact that we have every single window open.  It doesn’t help.  Meanwhile my right leg is still steadily on the gas.  Despite the fact that it is now numb below the knee.  Despite the fact that the hot air which is coming from the road and the catalytic converter is cooking it.  Despite the fact that my right hip is screaming in pain.

Well, we finally made it safely to the college.  Of course, when we arrived there we tried to make ourselves look as presentable as possible.  Beth had so many tangles in her long hair it’s a wonder she could get a brush through it.  And we both looked like we had just crossed the desert.  On foot.  But we made it.  We toured the college.  Made the return trip home.  (The conditions were only slightly better.)  Then we moved to Minnesota to attend college.  Which enabled me to be at the church that I currently serve.

After that experience, when we went to purchase our next vehicle, I didn’t care what model it was.  Or what color it was.  I didn’t care how stylish it was.  All I cared about is that it had cruise control.  “What’s that?  You have a brand new vehicle that I can have for free?  Oh, it doesn’t have cruise control?  That’s OK, I think I’ll just keep looking!”  Yes, the next vehicle that we purchased had cruise control.  And oh how I loved it!  There were quite a few more long trips in our future.  When we took them I simply put on the cruise control.  It didn’t make the trip any shorter.  And sitting behind the steering wheel of a vehicle for 18 hours was still a trial by endurance.  But it made the trip so much better.  My right leg was so happy it could barely stand it!

The spiritual application of this story in tomorrow’s post.

Lord, I thank you for getting us safely to St Paul Bible College all those years ago.  Despite not having cruise control.  Despite the fire.  Despite the heat.  You were with us all the time.  What a life-changing trip that was.  Everything that has happened to me since is a result of the success of that trip.  Thank you that not only were You with me then but that You are with me now.  Through the journey of life.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.