“Little Red” was parked yesterday in her favorite spot, where she can photobomb any garden pictures along the path in the front corner garden.
This car won’t look as good as she did in the photo from 5 years ago, now that her paint is peeling. We thought about getting her a new coat of paint. But since she just passed the 333,333 mark on her odometer, it didn’t seem wise.
May she rest in peace….someday. But I wasn’t ready for it to be yesterday when the mechanic said that the water system was intermingling with engine fluids, indicating a serious condition that would be very expensive to repair.
Oh, yes; she has had that repair once already. Fortunately for us, our son in Memphis is a phenomenal mechanic and was able to give Little Red a “heart transplant” at 110,000 miles. I know he wouldn’t be happy to do it with the current mileage.
And so, she sits beyond the garden and awaits a tough decision.
Oh, yeah. While I was still in excruciating back pain from the car wreck that left me without a way to go to work, I could tell that this little car at the dealership would not be as horrible as the others.
Not horrible! She was so much more than that.
We’ve been to so many places in this little car!
She has hauled trees sticking out of the sunroof, and loads of dirt and mulch in her ample trunk. She has been the party machine for my girlfriends and me as we traveled to gardens. There has been a lot of laughter in this little red car!
This is not the first time Little Red has been pronounced dead, or “mostly dead.” A neighbor ran into her after crossing the road into my path. As I awaited the insurance company to pick her up, I realized I couldn’t part with her. A hurried, frantic call resulted in buying her back. Eventually she was put back together with an unpainted black bumper and some red nail polish.
She has some battle scars, but don’t we all? What’s a ruined engine when you love a car? Is it that unrepairable? The interior is almost pristine. Okay, the dash lights don’t work at night. The door locks squeal. The transmission makes a clunking sound sometimes….okay, that probably is a big deal.
When we love something so much, it’s just hard to let it go — even when it’s past saving.
God didn’t let go of us; but then, He is GOD, so saving us wasn’t impossible. It wasn’t cheap, though! Do I want to spend a couple thousand dollars on a car that will have other expensive repairs soon? Maybe not. I don’t love Little Red quite that much.
But God was willing to pay an enormous price for us!
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16, NASB).
God never gave up on us, although we are not only ugly on the outside, but deep down. My car has been good to me and given me good use, but God loved us before we were useful to Him.
“Even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:5).
Little Red may be dead. Her life is probably over this time, after having been redeemed from the car crusher. When we are redeemed, our life is just beginning!
Christine (Tina) Berglund