Let me tell you a story. Back in 1998 I was living in San Antonio, TX and working the night shift at Walmart. They were kind enough to let me skip lunch and clock out a bit early so I could go to school from 7:30 am to 3:30 pm. I packed a change of clothes so I wouldnt look like a total bum in class and lived off the Burger King dollar (value) menu every day. On the freeway I would openly pray to God for him to allow me to get through traffic on time and stay awake in class. My (ex) wife didnt work at the time so it was all on me and money was super tight. The Lord answered my prayer and I graduated at the top of my class however that was only the beginning of my real test. You see with one income I was unable to make payments on my car for months and THE DAY OF GRADUATION they repossessed my beloved 95 Honda Accord. It felt like someone kicked me in the stomach when I saw the glass from the window laying in the parking lot. I immediately fell to my knees and thanked the Lord for allowing me to finish school before they took it. For the next few months I got really familiar with the bus schedule. Now the bus didnt go all the way to my job so in order to make it to work on time I would have to jog from the mall about a mile getting chased by dogs and all kinds of shit. If I woke up ill I would have to walk about a mile from home to a payphone to call in sick because our phone was disconnected so in my mind if I was well enough to walk a mile I may as well just take my ass to work! I landed a second job and saved up enough money to buy a bucket out of the local paper. It was a 1983 Lincoln Continental. The guy let me have it for $700. It was a cool looking classic but I drove it into the grown because I didnt have the time or money to fix it. It had a sunroof that I thought was great until on a rainy day I discovered it leaked while wearing my white lab coat on the way to work. After killing that car I bought another one from a girl at work who also charged me $700. It was an 83 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale. It was a piece of junk but I loved it. It had a Chevy 350 in it and people got the hell out of the way when they saw me coming. They warned me that the car needed a lot of repairs but I had no money, no tools and nowhere to fix on it. This car was leaking EVERYTHING!! Oil, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, brake fluid, gasoline, coolant (water cause aint nobody got time for no coolant), exhaust fumes and even electricity from a makeshift battery cable the previous owner rigged that had rubbed against the engine block until the wires were bare and started arcing. I crack Ronald Simpson up every time I tell this story. No tags, no registration, no insurance, no nothing but the cops didnt want to pull me over. The radiator only held water long enough for me to make it from my doorstep to my job so I carefully planned a route to get to work with no stop signs or red lights fearing that if I stopped I was going to overheat which actually did happen. If I was lucky enough to make it to work I would park it as far from other cars as I could because it would still be smoking from the oil leak and steaming from the radiator leak. My coworkers would say, Hey Redd I think your car is on fire man!! and I would respond, Naw man its just a leak. After awhile I was making enough to afford a car note so I went to this place that advertised We will take any car no matter what condition as your down payment. I decided to put that statement to the test. I drove it there and did all the paperwork for my new ride. When I gave them the keys they were scared to start it which proved to be not that much of a problem because when they tried it wouldnt start anyway. They actually had to push the car into their service department. The reason Im sharing this tragic and hilarious tale with you today is to help you understand that even if you dont believe in God I am convinced that there are powers at work for and against us in our lives every day. How we face and behave during those challenges determines what will become of us. I also believe that the Lord is speaking to us constantly. Shaping us, molding us, building our tolerance level, teaching and helping us to learn who we really are and what we are capable of. The Lord is so far ahead of us in His grand design to prepare us for the next step and get us in line with His plan for our life. It is really amazing when we look back at all weve been through and how those trails have led us to a new understanding and given us new tools and skills that we may never have sought out on our own. Thanks for reading and good day to you!!
Posted on: Sun, 06 Apr 2014 17:28:33 +0000
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