me and my car

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me and my car

Ben Hoyer - Wednesday, September 23, 2009

I don't know how well you know me, or if we've talked about it before, but I drive a "one of a kind" car. How I came to drive it is a story of the provision of the Lord. When Megan and I moved down here from previously living in Denver and St. Louis we thought we might be able to make it on one car. It didn't take long living down here to realize we underestimated the sprawl of suburban life, the heat/humidity of central florida, and the craziness of life with kid (now kids). Although one car wouldn't work, two would be tough since we were trying to let a family live on a first year pastor's salary. Enter the aforementioned provision of the Lord: Our gracious Father (earthly not heavenly) offered to let us drive one of his cars. He has been letting us drive it for over a year now.

As I piled into that tangible grace this morning I realized that it elicits varying emotions from me. I am alternatingly proud and embarrassed to be driving it. Proud when I think of myself as thumbing my nose at a materialistic culture, I see myself as backing up that oft-mentioned saying that a car is about A to B. Embarrassed when I find myself arriving sweaty from the lack of A/C or parallel parking between polished chrome and tinted windows. It has me thinking about how much of our identity we tend to put in our things. I mean how what we have speaks about who we are. Don't know how I feel about that.

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jacob commented on 24-Sep-2009 05:59 PM

I think you do know how you feel about that, but it's hard to articulate...maybe that should be your next blog.

sue commented on 25-Sep-2009 08:29 PM

What I have....God, a job, a marriage, a husband, children, love, a church...this all speaks of who I am. My messy house and my dirty cars, my weeds in my yard do too...it means i have much going on around me and I am thankful for it!

Debra commented on 26-Sep-2009 07:36 AM

One thing that I keep in mind when I look at my "mini-van" with toooo many miles, a few dents and a front end that clunks every time I even go over even a sand pebble is that IT'S PAID FOR. (And think about how much cheaper the insurance is, too.)

ben commented on 26-Sep-2009 03:37 PM

I mentioned this website once before, but it's worth mentioning again. A group of people have started what they call the junky car club. It's a club of people like Debra that are able to shun the pressures of marketing and drive a less than new car in the name of stewardship. Their website is cool: junkycarclub.com

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me and my car

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