I filled the car with gas and pulled onto the freeway ready to hit the grocery stores and replenish the cupboards.  A few minutes later while listening to Christmas music on the radio the car made a definite miss as it accelerated up hill.  Immediately I turned down the radio to listen for any other unusual noises the car might make.  It didn’t take long before it made noises I have never heard a car make before!  I pulled over to the side of the road and called Brett.  After calling Brett I texted my son Colby about my misfortune.  He goaded me by asking if my car had finally broke down and given  up the ghost.  I assured him it had not!  I had decided to take Brett’s more fun to drive car to the store and it broke down.  In the meantime I was waiting for  Brett to arrive and rescue me in my reliable 15-year-old Rav4 with rusty wheels and fading paint, (which has never in 15  years and 215,000 miles broke down and left me stranded anywhere).

My knight in shining armor arrived and we traded cars.  We drove on the side of the freeway and pulled off to turn around at the next exit.  I laughed to myself at seeing  Brett drive at 35 mph on the freeway!  Brett drove the car to our favorite repair shop and explained the symptoms.  They assured us they would figure out the problem in no time at all.

Brett’s car seems to be more like an expensive hobby that we drive for fun, while my car is always just plodding along, never giving up.  It’s not pretty any more, too many years in the Las Vegas sun faded the paint.  It’s a 4-cylendar with all of about 120 horse power, but it has faithfully started up and taken me everywhere I have needed to go for the last fifteen years all on bare minimum maintenance.  Brett’s car on the other hand still has shiny paint and a turbo that makes it fun to drive.  But, it seems to break down every few months and despite its unreliability we pay for the repairs and just hope it will finally keep running without breaking down.  It sure has enough new parts in it by now that we keep thinking, “How many more can break down?”

I’m going to compare my car to God.  Most of the time He’s not real flashy.  He doesn’t catch our eye necessarily as someone we might want to hang out with.  Well, we see Him in the crowd, but it’s a lot like seeing an old pick up truck next to a shiny new Porsche in our favorite color sitting on the car lot.  We know the truck is probably more reliable and will get us where we need to go rain or shine, sleet or snow, but the shiny new Porsche grabs our attention with the promise of speed and open highway.

When we choose God as our best friend, He is as reliable as they come.  He is always there and gets us where we need to go.  If we choose to ignore God and drive in the fast lane under our own power, eventually we are broke down and busted up next to the side of the road.  Lucky for us, God is always willing to come to our rescue and get us back on the right path.