not quite so zoomy…

This week’s bloggings seem to have been dominated by cars, and today completes the set.

I had to take my car for an MOT Test today. Cue sense of anxiety as I leave it at the Test Centre (at least I know the tyres are fine (see earlier bloggerel this week). Cue hour’s wait with cup of coffee at nearby restaurant. Cue walk of trepidation back to the Test Centre with mixture of hope and dread (the car is now 9 years old). Cue disappointment as the man behind the counter gets out a piece of paper edged in red. FAILURE!

I am a failure.

Well, it’s my car that is a failure.

Well, it’s not the end of the world and is relatively easily and relatively cheaply fixed. But it feels yucky to be told that your car has failed. The shame of it. The inconvenience of it. Actually I am not sure if my feelings of shame or inconvenience are greater.

I did think about drawing an analogy from this about us all needing regular spiritual MOT tests. But that seemed a bit trite and obvious.

I did think about drawing an analogy from this about how God sees us – not as failures but as people with potential – but that seemed a bit cheesy.

So I will leave you (pre-joke) with this thought.

There is no good analogy from this. We are not spiritual cars that Jesus drives around to get from place to place. We are not spiritual cars that break down and need repairs. 

We are people: dearly loved by God and whom he calls his children. Does God the Father really think we are so important that he was willing to give Jesus for us? You bet. To risk being seen promoting a brand of shampoo (and if you know me you will know just how unlikely that is) – when God looks at you he says, “You’re worth it!”

Be blessed, be a blessing

A man from Colchester, driving a Mini with blacked-out windows, pulls up next to a guy in a Rolls Royce at a red traffic light. Their windows are open and the guy in the Rolls yells across, “Hey, have you got a telephone in that Mini?” 

The guy in the Mini says, “Yes, I do.”

“I got one too… see?” the Rolls owner says.

“Uh, huh, yes, that’s very nice.”

“You got a fax machine?” asks the Roller boy.

“Why, actually, yes, I do.” says the Essex man

“I do too! See? It’s right here!” brags the man with the flying lady on his bonnet. 

The light is just about to turn green and the guy in the Mini shouts across, “So, do you have a double bed in back there?” 

The guy in the Rolls replies, “NO! Do you?” 

“Yep, got my double bed right in the back,” the Colcestrian replies and he zooms off chuckling to himself.

The guy in the Rolls is not about to be one-upped, so he immediately goes to a customizing shop and orders them to put a double bed in back of his car.

About two weeks later, the job is finally done. He picks up his car and drives all over town looking for the Mini with the Colchester man in it. Finally, he finds it parked alongside the road, so he pulls his Roller up next to it.

The windows on the Mini are all fogged up and he feels somewhat awkward about it, but he gets out of his newly modified Rolls and taps on the foggy window of the Mini. The man in the Mini finally opens the window a crack and peeks out.

The guy with the Rolls says, “Hey, remember me?”

“Yeah, yeah, I remember you,” replies the Essex man, irritably. “What’s up?”

“Check this out… I got a double bed installed in my Rolls.”

The Mini owner shouted back, “YOU GOT ME OUT OF THE SHOWER TO TELL ME THAT?!”