Radiator Trouble

 

In 1998 I had a Sunday meeting in Ozark, Alabama to share my ministry to Romania.  But I had a radiator leak in the old Buick station wagon that I was driving.  So, I filled up five empty milk jugs with water, loaded up my slide projector and slides, and took off for Alabama.  Things went fine … for a while.  I drove along, seeing a wisp of water vapor every once in a while reminding me that things weren’t as calm as I was pretending them to be.  When the temperature gauge began to climb, I would pull over on the side of the interstate and filled the radiator with water.  When I used the last jug, I pulled off at the next exit to fill the radiator and refill the five jugs with water.  But the stops became more frequent as the leak grew.  After a particularly long stretch of desolate road, I had used the last of the water jugs and it had been some time since I had seen an exit sign.  As the temperature gauge began to rise, I topped a hill and saw an exit.  I killed the engine and was able to coast down the ramp into a little town.  Just across from the first intersection was a radiator shop.  The owner was working that Saturday and agreed to fix the leak.  My old Buick had a solid tin/brass radiator that could be re-soldered.  In one hour, I was on my way with no leak.  What a relief!  As my Granny Whitely used to say, “There’s no shame in being poor; it’s just inconvenient.”  David said in Psalm 37:25, “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”  I miss those days when I was so foolish and so poor that God had to take care of me.  Well, I miss some parts of those days.  But God has been so good to this old man that I couldn’t begin to thank Him.  Hey, I think I’ll just get on my knees and thank Him again right now.  Won’t you join me?  Let’s thank the dear Lord for His goodness to us over the years.

Car Emblem

 

I found this clever addition to the back emblem a Kia Soul auto in the parking lot of Publix Wednesday.  “It Is Well with My Soul” was written by a man who was familiar with heartache.  Horatio Spafford lost a son, was financially ruined in the Great Fire of Chicago, and lost all 4 of his daughters in a ship tragedy.  But in the midst of his loss, he wrote, it is well with my soul.  And what a great reminder on the back of a car!  Truly, it is well with my soul too!  III John 2, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.”  May the dear Lord keep His strong hand upon you today, is my prayer.

Mr. Ford

When I was young, my dad had a farmer friend in Churchville, Maryland.  Mr. Briney was a Godly man and dad would take us boys with him to visit Mr. Briney every month or so.  One day after our visit, dad took us by Mr. Ford’s blacksmith shop that was nearby in the village of Level.  Mr. Ford was old and worked his forge only occasionally, but he was glad to show us boys around the place.  It was a wonder for us to look at with tools and implements all around.  When Mr. Ford passed away, his entire blacksmith shop was donated and moved about five miles to the Susquehanna State Park Farm Machinery Museum.  Sixty years later, little boys can still watch blacksmiths hand-make horseshoes using Mr. Ford’s own tools.  The tools are still working, and Mr. Ford’s memory is still in my mind.  Hey, do you have any old memories still etched in your mind of old-timers from the past?  But more important yet, will you leave any memories etched in someone else’s mind?  David said of the Lord in Psalm 143:5, “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.”  Think about the old days.  Remember people who have influenced your life.  Now make a commitment to influence someone else.  Remember how good the Lord has been to you all of these years and pass it on to the next generation.

A Boulder

 

Monday, I was late for cardiac rehab because I had a boulder in my shoe.  Well, at least it felt like a boulder.  Each step was painful, so I stopped halfway in and sat down at a bench and took my shoe off to shake it out.  Then I put my shoe back on and continued in.  But the rock was still in my shoe.  I stopped again, took off my shoe, brushed off my sock, and shook out my shoe vigorously.  Then I put my shoe back on and continued in.  The rock was still there.  So, I stopped a third time, took off my shoe, took off my sock, and turned the sock inside out and shook it … vigorously.  I turned the sock right-side-out, shook it again, put it back on, shook my show once again (vigorously), put my shoe back on, and continued my way in.  And … the rock was gone!  But so was my time!  Ephesians 5:16, “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."  Hey, I did the best that I could!