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Christmas break is nearly over. My son, David, came home for a couple weeks. My daughter, Tricia, has also come home for a couple weeks. My oldest daughter, Jessica, is home all the time, which I love. David and Tricia's time overlapped. Dave left Wednesday driving from here in Boise to Albuquerque in one day - then Albuquerque to Lubbock to spend time with grandparents. Then Lubbock to Dallas to participate in a friend's wedding - Fletch got married; Dave was an usher. Tricia will be here until Monday. She will return to her home to get ready for the rest of year teaching.
I said all that to say this. David needed a car since he got rid of his old clunker before he went on OC's study abroad program - PacRim. I sold him my car. I had just repaired the last thing needed to make it "just right". That solved his problem but created one for me. I now was in need of a car.
Did I mention I dislike car shopping? Not as much as I hate shoveling snow. But I rank it up there with getting my teeth drilled and smashing my finger in a door.
So, I prayed, checked the paper and prayed again. A couple possibilities jumped out at me and I immediately called about one. Thursday morning I test drove a Honda Accord (two years older than the one Dave left with and 40,000 miles less!) Then, yesterday negotiated a sweet deal with the fellow who was selling it.
Couple deep thoughts come from this experience. Thought one: It is practically impossible to survive in the world, work, socialize, shop, etc without having a car. It can be done but how inconvenient and impractical. Thought two: You don't have to spend an arm and leg (one arm or one leg maybe - but not both) to get a functioning vehicle. It's amazing how little you have to spend when you simply look for functionality. Bonus thought three: It is hard to live simple. I don't mean minded. I mean a simple lifestyle. I struggled with the desire to buy an impressive looking car that might make others think more highly of me. I lost the struggle somewhat - I did get a nice looking car - but it is a 1990 mustard gold, Honda Accord. It looks better than the amount I spent on it. So, what am I trying to say? Just that it seems pretty easy to caught up in looks and appearances to create a sense of value. Even when I am aware of it, I still fall easy to the lure of the materialistic.
There really is only place to discover, claim and build a personal sense of value. The cross of Jesus. Nearly 2,000 years ago Jesus made a strong declaration of our worth. He said, "I love you this much!" Stated another way, "You are worth this much to me; I'm committed this much to you!"
WOW! I am worth the life of Jesus. That is an historical fact - no one can ever take that away from me. I may wreck my car, house could burn down, lose my job, gradually lose my great looks, suffer some accident or disease that could take away my physical abilities, etc, etc. All the things that people generally look to to find and declare their value, their self-worth can be taken away in a heartbeat. NOT THE CROSS! No one can touch that. I can build my life on that solid rock.