1958 Volkswagen

 

My dad worked at the Glenn L. Martin Co. as a machinist.  It was twenty miles from our home in Joppa to the factory in Baltimore, so he bought a 1958 Volkswagen beetle to save on gas.  It only had 36 horsepower but got almost 50 miles per gallon.  With a top speed of 50 mph, it had to have a five-speed manual transmission to make it up and down hills.  It didn’t have a gas gauge; it had a nine-tenths gallon reserve gas tank in the ten-gallon tank.  When the engine began to sputter, you reached over with your toe and flipped a lever near the clutch to switch to the reserve tank.  When you filled up the gas tank, the reserve tank was filled up too. The little car had great traction with the engine in the back right over the rear-wheel drive wheels.  One winter it snowed on Saturday and into Sunday morning.  My dad was determined to make it to church that morning.  Mom and my two youngest brothers stayed home, and my other brother and I went to church with my dad.  Our lane was a hundred yards long and snow blocked us getting to the hard road.  So, my brother and I rode on the back bumper of the VW to give it extra weight and traction.  We made it to the paved road, got into the back seat, and on to church.  We were three of only a hand-full of folk who made it to church.  I know God doesn’t take roll, but it is always good to attend church when you can.  The writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”  It’s easy to find an excuse for not attending church.  The Covid shutdown made many of us careless in church attendance, but it’s time to get back to church!  Church attendance is a good habit, so why not decide to always be in your place at church.  Hey, attending church is a good habit with great benefits!