A couple of weeks ago, I had the wonderful honor of going with my son to pick up his first car. He wanted a project car and it flooded wonderful memories for me, taking me back 42 years to my own project car. A 1972 Ford Pinto station wagon that I paid $250 hard-earned dollars to purchase and then worked on for an entire summer for the privilege and freedom of driving.
My son looks like me as a young man. He has the wit and sense of humor that God gave me, with his being more sharp and keen. He walks like I do and makes observations like I do. He makes his mother and sisters laugh like I did my mom and sisters. He has also inherited his father’s short attention span and eagerness to run into things he might not be properly prepared for. He is his father’s (and mother’s) son.
“Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it.” Psalm 139:14 (NLT)
When Benton laid eyes on this 1988 Ford Bronco II, I witnessed him seeing something beyond my ability to see. He saw himself driving down the roads in his vehicle, with new paint (wrap), lift kit, wheel spacers, wide wheels and tires, light bar, new interior. A vehicle that brought freedom. joy, opportunity, growth. A born-again vehicle with a second life of purpose and prize. A young man’s dream.
“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” John 3:3 (NLT)
As Benton and I picked up his new prized possession, I had some nervous anticipation and anxiety. Now I have loaded, pulled and hauled very heavy loads over the course of my lifetime, oftentimes loads consisting of very expensive things. This time was different. I was hauling something priceless. I was hauling the dreams of my son. The fulfillment of years of hard work on his behalf. As he drove the Bronco onto our beat-up utility trailer, I was cringing inside hoping, praying asking my Daddy in Heaven to please make it hold. As we strapped the vehicle down I decided to drive the back roads to our place to try and take it slow and steady with a safe arrival.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” Proverbs 3:5-6
As we were driving back to our farm, I was white-knuckling it as I drove, continually checking my mirrors to make sure the priceless load was safe. I felt the anxiety of my 16 year-old self from years ago as I drove. Then while driving, I noticed that my son was relaxed in the passenger seat, leg crossed, looking at parts for his Bronco on his phone, never checking our load nor paying attention to my driving. He was relaxed. He was immersed in the confidence he had in his father. He knew that I would take him and his newly purchased and immediately loved SUV home.
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
So the Lord, in this marvelous moment with my son spoke me and said, “son, why can’t you ride in the passenger seat while I drive with the same rest, calm, confidence and trust that your son (that I gave you) rides with you?” Ouch! Truth. I continue to seek to be a righteous man, failing more than succeeding, confident in Whose I am and where I am going after these short years on Earth, yet still approaching this life with thoughts of control and self direction. I still struggle to surrender all, even though Daddy knows I am trying. He knows my heart. He sees my flawed effort. He loves me despite, not because.
“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people.” Psalm 118:8
I am thankful for the new life that my son will create as he works on his project car, that looks to many like a vehicle ready for the trash heap, all the while he seeing the beauty and joy of what will emerge from his efforts.
Too many of us see ourselves or others as bodies ready to be discarded to the trash heap of life. But God does not! He sees His beautiful daughter or son, wonderfully and marvelously made, with potential for impact through the experiences that life has buried them under. God makes all things. He makes all things new. He loves you right where you are. He awaits your asking to sit in the passenger seat of this life and eternity and trust His driving to the safe destination that awaits all Believers.
“Blessed is the man (woman) who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8
Commit to no longer worrying about what the World sees in you. Recognize and accept what the Father sees in you. You are His and He is yours. Trust Him and lay your seat back, knowing that the destination is assured and the beauty of the work He is doing in you will emerge in amazing ways.
“So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6
Father, that you that you allow me to be a father. Thank you for my wonderful son and the life project that he represents. Daddy, I turn him fully over to you and trust that your plans for him are best and his greatest beauty and lasting impact will emerge through You. Jesus, take the wheel.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” Romans 15:13