A couple of weeks ago I was talking to a young man whom I have known for a long time. Our conversation was pleasant until I asked the question that I ask occasionally when we talk. “So, you going to church anywhere?” Most of my former Youth go to church somewhere, but this young man hasn’t gone anywhere in years. So, I prod him occasionally. Usually there is this excuse or that excuse, but this time he surprised me.

          “Church makes me angry.” I immediately became defensive. After all, I had been his pastor for a long time. “What is it about church that makes you angry?” A moment of silence, then, “I don’t want to talk about it right now.” My immediate impulse would have been to raise my voice and demand that we talk about it right now. But my mind, I believe under God’s influence, stopped me. Not every battle needs to be won right at this very moment.  

          He probably hasn’t thought about it since, but it has never been far from my mind. What is it about church that makes him angry?

          It could be lots of things. People who claim to love the Lord but are often critical about things while doing nothing to make things better. Those who seem to thrive on gossip. People who always walked the walk and then walked away and joined the walk of Satan. Those who rip and tear. Those who complain constantly. And then there are the stories the news media loves to put out there. Priests and pastors (it is not just Catholics) who molest children. Church leaders who steal from their churches. Religious leaders who will say anything to bring in money. People who, in the name of Jesus, support one political stance or the other. Oh, there are a lot of things in the church that makes people angry. It is not enough to say, ‘Well, everyone is just human.’ It is true, we are human. Most people have no trouble understanding a momentary lapse, like a flare of anger. But people have a real hard time understanding ongoing moral failures. None of the things listed above have the excuse of ‘the heat of the moment.’ These are Spiritual failures that the people involved in just shrug off and say, ‘I am just human.’

          So, this young man is made angry by church. What is church? It is a gathering of people. The word in the New Testament that we translate as ‘church’ is the Greek word ‘ekklesia’ and it means a gathering or an assembly of people. Anywhere you have people, you will have short comings. Some of us understand that and we don’t look for perfection in our gathering. But the great majority of people out there see the imperfections and feel they do not want to belong to such as that. Part of our problem is that we seem to insist on living like the world rather than living as His children, and people clearly see that hypocrisy. So, what do we do about it?

          To say we need to start living as Christians need to live is kind of pointless. Most people assume they are living as Christians need to live. Maybe we need to look at that first and foremost.

          1 John 1:5-10 says this---5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

          If you take a candle and light it in a dark room and place it near a wall and then shine a bright flashlight on it, you will see the shadow of the candle holder and the candle, but you will not see the shadow of the fire. You might see the shadow of the smoke, but not the flame. There is no darkness in the flame. Now do this tonight after dark. Go to an outside door and open it. Has it ever been so dark that the dark comes into a lit room? No. The light goes out into the darkness. And, as the light goes out into the darkness, it does not lessen in the light in the room. JESUS IS THE LIGHT! At the very best, we can be the candle holder or the candle. At the very worst, we can be the darkness outside.

          If we are believers in Christ, we need to put aside the things that obscure the Light from people like that young man who is angry at church. We need to step up.         It could be lots of things. People who claim to love the Lord but are often critical about things while doing nothing to make things better. Don’t be so critical about the church or about the people. You are not perfect, either, and you need to work on yourself. Don’t involve yourself in walking with Satan. We talk about ‘falling into sin.’ I believe people walk into sin with their eyes wide open. King David was where he should not have been, he looked over and saw Bathsheba bathing and kept looking and he sent and took her and sinned. And, he was so arrogant that he didn’t see he was walking with Satan until he was told. Quit gossiping. Quit being immersed in things that are not of God. And, for heaven sakes, quit excusing your behavior by saying, ‘Well, I am just human.’ Of course you are human, but we are told to walk with the Lord.

          Why is this young man angry at church? I look at myself first of all. Did I let him down? I don’t know. I don’t see how, but still. But I do know what I am going to do about it. I am going to make it a matter of prayer and I am going to be the best example of the Light I can be. I cannot be the Light, but I can reflect it.

          Blessings.

Stephanie is a woman in her 40s who now lives in Pennsylvania. As a youngster, because of bad issues at home, she lived with us for a period of time. All that is another story. While she was with us, she discovered that I have this irrational fear of heights. About fifteen years ago she was excitedly telling me about Bridge Day at the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia. For those who do not know, the New River Gorge Bridge stretches 3,030 feet from end to end and the roadway is 876 feet above the New River. You may have heard of it recently because part of it collapsed. Good to know. It is being repaired. Bridge Day is a yearly festival that happens on the bridge. Stephanie told me that she was going to go to Bridge Day and bungee jump off the bridge. Actually, they ceased the bungee jumping in 1993, but I didn’t know that. They do allow that whole thing where people put on gliding suits and fly off the bridge. But she told me she was going to bungee just to see my reaction. It must have been pretty good, because she dissolved into laughter. But she also told me that whether it was bungee jumping or jumping out of an airplane with a parachute, she only ever really feels alive as she falls through the air.

See, I do not understand that thinking. As a kid we used to jump from the barn rafters into the hay below. But it never was exhilarating. It was terrifying. Period. I didn’t want to be the sissy, though. My sisters jumped, my best friend’s sister jumped, my best friend’s brother jumped, my best friend jumped. So, I jumped. They were having great fun. Not so much me.

Ferris Wheels. Sheer terror. Roller Coasters. Not me. There is a ride now called the Slingshot. Kind of self explanatory. I am not riding that baby. It is all perfectly safe. I don’t care. Once we were at Niagara Falls on the Canadian side. Down river from the Falls there are the cable cars that go over the Niagara River Gorge. From the Canadian side to the US side and back. The wind down the Gorge is extreme because of the pressure from the Falls, so the cable cars will sway. Our son was maybe 10 years old and he wanted to go across the Gorge, but he would only go if I went. Not wanting to be the coward, I agreed. Halfway over he got up with Marsha and they were walking around, looking over the side. I was still seated trying to crush the steel hand rail with my bare hands. On the other hand, I love to ride the Maid of the Mist, which is a boat that fights the current and goes right to the base of the Falls. That is probably more dangerous than the cable cars, but you are not in the air. Makes all the difference.

It is odd, but I have flown in small planes and jet planes and even a helicopter. Never seemed to bother me. But the thrill rides…..irrational.

Or is it?

The Associated Press ran this article on May 2, 2019.

The GaleForce coaster was undergoing a routine safety check when the dummies plummeted into a hotel next door.

The operators of a New Jersey shore amusement park say a roller coaster there is safe after a pair of water-filled test dummies fell off during a recent test ride.

The GaleForce coaster at Playland's Castaway Cove in Ocean City was undergoing a routine safety check April 20 when the dummies plummeted into a hotel next door, damaging the building's shingles and plywood.

Park officials say the dummies had undetected leaks that made them lose their mass and shape, causing them to fall. They say that wouldn't happen to humans and that nothing on the ride failed during the test, including the lap bar that secures riders.

Officials say the coaster has run problem-free since the mishap and is tested daily for about two hours.

          OK. Two things jump out at me. First the dummies were ejected and slammed into the roof of the nearby hotel hard to damage the roof. I looked this place up on Google Earth, which can give you views from space to treetop level. There is a hotel quite close to the ride, but it is three stories tall. Those dummies were hurtled a long way to land on the roof and they had some speed. The second thing I see is that the park claimed that the dummies had undetected leaks and humans wouldn’t leak. Well, I would, but never mind that. If a sack of water in the shape of a human is leaking, wouldn’t you see that when you strapped it in? And how do they know the dummies were leaking? I would assume that impacting the roof at high speed would cause a sack of water to pop some leaks. Are they saying the leaks were detected after impact? Of course they leaked after impact! Imagine being a guest in that hotel and you hear a huge bang on the roof, you rush to the window and see a human shaped form sliding off the roof past your window, trailing fluid. I bet they checked out without the park experience. However, for those of you who are interested, they test the ride for two hours a day. Maybe you could hire out as a tester. Humans are, in reality, mostly water that is incased in a sack of skin.

          Could it be, just maybe, that my fear is not totally irrational?

          We all have a fear or two. But as Christians, we should have no Spiritual fear. We put our faith in Christ and trust Him to take care of it. The Fanny Crosby song really does cover it.

1.     Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe on His gentle breast;
There by His love o’ershaded,
Sweetly my soul shall rest.
Hark! ’tis the voice of angels
Borne in a song to me,
Over the fields of glory,
Over the jasper sea.

2.     Safe in the arms of Jesus,
Safe from corroding care,
Safe from the world’s temptations;
Sin cannot harm me there.
Free from the blight of sorrow,
Free from my doubts and fears;
Only a few more trials,
Only a few more tears!

3.     Jesus, my heart’s dear Refuge,
Jesus has died for me;
Firm on the Rock of Ages
Ever my trust shall be.
Here let me wait with patience,
Wait till the night is o’er;
Wait till I see the morning
Break on the golden shore.

Be Safe!

          I would like to say I am sorry for being off these pages for the last couple of weeks. I am a pastor first and foremost, and the last few weeks have been really busy. The blog is back today, though!

         It was the first time I had ever heard of the question, although it is going to be a regular inquiry from now on. At first, I was a little taken aback, but as I thought about it, I understand the need for the question, especially in today’s social climate. A patient is to have surgery. One of the nurses, who comes around before the patient goes in for the procedure and asks question after question, walks in to the room and pulls out a clipboard and starts in.

          “Please excuse the question, but were you born male or female.”

          Just wat you don’t want to discuss immediately before surgery. But, when you think about it, it does make sense. You don’t have to stay with the sex you were born with. If you don’t like being a female, you can become a male, and visa versa. Not everyone retains their gender from birth. It is called gender reassignment. It requires surgeries and medications and counseling, but you can be given a new gender. For that matter, you can simply start living as a member of the opposite sex and begin to declare that you are something different and, in many places, you become different with a courts ruling. Back before same sex marriages were made legal, I knew of two young women who wanted to get married. One of them filled out the paperwork and was declared a man. They are even parents of two children, although “Ryan” had no part in the conception.

          But back to question; the reason it has to be asked is pretty simple. Even though a person might have all the surgeries and all the medications and all the counseling, there are still differences between the male and the female body. A surgeon, of course, can do surgery on either. But, if they go in on a male body and find something pertaining to a woman, they could make a mistake or they might have to change the whole procedure on the spot since the patient is already opened up. Asking if you were born male or female would be considered the least offensive way to gain the information. Medically speaking, it is a question that needs to be asked.

          Many would say that this is the society we live in. It is confusing and misdirected and, most of all, corrupt. All true. But another thought comes to my mind. Regardless what you think you are, what your sexual orientation is, what you feel like on any given day, you are what you are born to be. Someone will say, “Not so! Many babies are born as hermaphrodites! What do you say about them?” Just so you know, a hermaphrodite is someone with the sexual organs of both male and female. First, it is a birth defect. Second, only 0.033% of babies born in the USA are hermaphrodites. That is not 0.033 of every 100 births. It is 0.033 percent of all births, which is a really small number. Since it is a birth defect, many of these have other problems and may never reach adulthood. So, we are left with the fact that we are what we were at birth, regardless of how we feel about it or what we do about it.

          The question, after mulling it over in my mind, led to another thought. In the Bible, the human body is often used as a metaphor to explain our Spiritual essence. The whole passage dealing with the Spiritual armor is using physical things to explain Spiritual truth. Do we reflect what we are, or do we project something we are not? For instance, do you project the image of a Christian but have never trusted in Christ as Savior? Or, have you accepted Christ as Savior, but you are not now living or acting as a Christian? We tend to be negatively affected to some degree by someone who is homosexual or transgender, yet we make excuses when we try and change who we are Spiritually. We say nonsensical things like “Everyone in church is a hypocrite” or “I just sometimes cannot control myself” or whatever we have to say in order to make ourselves feel better. It can be a struggle, for sure.

          One day we will stand before the Lord. Maybe you believe that, maybe you do not. Whether or not you agree with something does not alter whether or not it is the truth. Some people have taken portions of Scripture out of context and announced that the Word of God is wrong. But taken in context and as a whole, the Scripture has never been seen to be in error. So, one day we will stand before the Lord. “Were you, or were you not, born again?” Not, “did you live a good life,” but are you a believer in the saving power of Jesus? The answer, which you will not be able to lie about, will determine your eternity. If you are a believer, will you receive a “Well done, good and faithful servant?” Or will you just be allowed in?

          I am a long way from perfection. I know that and I work at improving. But what you see in me is what I am. Deep down in the deepest part of your soul, what are you?

          Noelvys was a fifteen year old teenager when she came into our lives when Marsha and I lived in the Miami, Florida area. Hialeah, Florida, to be exact. Just north of Miami. Known throughout the country for the Hialeah Horse Racing Track. And, although very few people outside of Hialeah ever heard of it, Hialeah was home to Sunset Heights Baptist Church. Marsha was the secretary, I was the associate pastor and Noelvys, the fifteen year old mentioned above, was our piano player.

          Her parents had escaped from Cuba to get away from Castro’s socialist utopia before Noelvys was born and they settled in Hialeah, which had a growing Cuban population. Noelvys was something of a musical prodigy and when our piano player fell and broke her shoulder, Noelvys came to the rescue. Our pianist was 78 when she broke her shoulder and she never really healed well, so Noelvys stayed on. She became part of our Youth group and went with Marsha and I on various ministry endeavors. She and Marsha were quite close, but mostly she tolerated me.

          In time she married and had two daughters. While the girls were little, Noelvys’ husband, Ricky, left his wife and daughters behind and went off on a new life. Noelvys had a difficult job ahead, but she was up to the task. Both daughters, Melissa and Brianna, are grown and are making their way in the world. Noelvys has been quite successful, although she wouldn’t think so. Her experiences have shaped her life and although there is a lot of the 15 year old still there, there is also a woman who has a strong edge to her.

          We had been kind of loosely in touch until two years ago when I had my heart surgery. Noelvys is a nurse by training. Her career is based on medical, but what she actually does is beyond that and, to be truthful, even though she has explained it to me, I am not really sure what it is she does. But as a nurse, she was quite concerned about my upcoming surgery. That began a more regular correspondence. Then, she asked me if she could be on our prayer list here at the Yoke. She reads the blogs and prays for the people on the prayer list and she will call and ask questions about some of them and whether the doctor prescribed this or that or whatever. She is really concerned. When Jerry Warnock had his back surgery, you would have thought Noelvys was a family member. She has taken the congregation to heart. She is not the only one. I will talk about that more later. First, though, I want to tell my most recent Noelvys story.

          When Marsha left, Noelvys was shocked and disappointed. This was not the behavior she would have expected out of Marsha. But also, she really doesn’t think I can survive on my own. We communicate often now and she is always asking about my health, if I am eating right, how am I dealing with the stress, am I finding ways to relax…..that sort of thing. A lot of women feel that way about men. Poor lost souls, need a woman to point them in the right direction. So, on the evening of April Fool’s day, I sent Noelvys a text. A question maybe you can answer. I ran out of black pepper about a month ago. Since I am Mr. Cheap, I didn’t get any more. But then last week I ran out of salt, too. So, I went out and bought both pepper and salt and brought them home. My problem is how do I put the salt and pepper into their respective shakers? My mother’s shakers had a hole in the bottom that sealed with a cork, but these do not. I have been trying to pour the salt and pepper in through the little holes at the top, but I am making a mess. Isn’t there an easier way? It was evening, so I knew she was home. She usually responds within a minute. Five minutes went by, and then this; The tops don’t unscrew? What do you mean? Ten minutes go by. The salt and pepper shakers, the tops don’t unscrew? There are no screws in them, so how could they unscrew? Five minutes go by. When you take hold of the top and turn to the left, does the whole top unscrew? Gee, I don’t know. Wait a sec….Hey! They screw right off! Thanks! Fifteen minutes go by. Finally, I text, The preceding was an April Fool’s joke. The response was immediate. OK, good. I was trying to figure out how to contact the blog lady (Mary) to get her to run over there and check to see if you had a stroke.

          That was really very satisfying.

          But it got me to thinking later. She was going to try and contact Mary, a woman she has never met but someone she felt she could trust because she has read her blog heard about her. Noelvys is on my prayer chain because she asked to be on the prayer chain. She reads the blogs (the blog lady’s and the blog guy’s)  because I send out the links. The edition of the prayer chain I put out has all the names on it that Judy and Janene have on theirs, but mine also has a few more because I have added some here and there by request. People who have been prayer partners with me from before and who want to continue to be prayer partners. People praying for people they will never know personally and will never meet in this life, yet praying earnestly anyway.

          And real concern, too. As a person progresses after the prayer need, I tend to forget to send out updates. Everyone hears how they are doing in church. Last week I received a note wondering about the Hann family. I had posted about the adoption that got derailed and then about Chris’ heart cath, but had never updated. This person wanted to know how the family was doing. Like some of the others, they had posted the needs on the prayer chains at their own churches. I may post a request here, but people in Ohio and Florida and Oklahoma and who knows where else are also praying. And that is awesome!

          I sometimes think we do not put enough stock in prayer. I know I send out requests without really thinking about the ones who receive that request outside of the church. But people all over whom it has been my privilege to share prayer time and prayer needs are stopping what they are doing for a bit and lifting people of the Yoke up. I would dearly love to, one day, bring all of those extra prayer chain folks together with those from the Yoke so that our people can say thanks and those people can put faces to the names. It won’t happen here, but some day……Well, there is a song by Eliza Hewitt written in 1898 called, When We All Get to Heaven:

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus
Sing His mercy and His grace
In the mansion's bright and blessed
He'll prepare for us a place!

While we walk the pilgrim pathway
Clouds will over spread the sky
But when travelin' days are over
Not a shadow, not a sign!

Onward to the prize before us
Soon His beauty we'll behold
Soon the Pearly Gates will open
We shall tread the streets of gold!

When we all get to Heaven
What a day of rejoicing that will be
When we all see Jesus
We'll sing and shout the victory

          When that day happens, look me up and I’ll introduce all of you.

          It makes us angry, doesn’t it? Every generation seems to rise up with thoughts and ideas that are contrary to the previous generations, and they are adamant to these new concepts. Their parents and grandparents have no clue as to how the world should work while they, the younger generation, have it all figured out. I suppose I was that way, too, but not like this generation. Today’s young people seem to be enamored with the concept of socialism. I recently heard a politically ‘progressive’ (someone who favors socialism) talking about the president of the United States. This individual said that the president was just like Hitler. It would be funny, except it is so tragic. Hitler started the Nazi party in Germany. NAZI is an acronym and stands for Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei. In English, this translates to ‘National Socialist German Worker’s Party.’ This socialist politician was saying she dislikes the president because he is acting like Hitler, who was a socialist and who acted like all socialist leaders have acted throughout history. And the young person interviewing her had no clue and just agreed with her. Man, oh man, what do they teach in the schools these days?

On a hill far away, stood an old rugged Cross
The emblem of suffering and shame
And I love that old Cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain

          Not only that, but young folks today want to raise the minimum wage to the point that an entry level position will support a family without realizing that raising the wage will just raise prices and eliminate jobs. What, exactly, is taught in school today?

So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross
And exchange it some day for a crown

          Now in school the thinking is that since the world revolves around computers, kids need to learn with computers. So, the kids have computers in school. I get that. The world has changed a lot since I had to learn how to use a slide rule. But what about classical education? Famous literary works, art, even history? What about civics? “Such things will not be important in the future.” Apparently, they are not important now, either!

Oh, that old rugged Cross so despised by the world
Has a wondrous attraction for me
For the dear Lamb of God, left his Glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary

          The thinking of today’s young people is just going to lead the country into the dumpster. I look at these kids and wonder just what are they thinking? Because they have a desire to change things, we have young people who refuse to look at common sense and instead embrace silly political notions. In my day, we wouldn’t have done that!

In the old rugged Cross, stained with blood so divine
A wondrous beauty I see
For the dear Lamb of God, left his Glory above
To pardon and sanctify me

          In case you haven’t figured it out yet, this is not really a rant against young people or political ideologies or the changes we have gone through or the challenges we face. I mean, yes, I do despair over the things I hear and see on the news. I do wonder why young people today tend to embrace things like socialism when history shows that every time it has been tried a tyrannical dictator has emerged. I do question political motivations from both parties. But I have my vote and by the time it comes to vote I am well informed and that is pretty much it for me. I have a higher calling. As a Christian (not as a pastor, but as a Christian) I am responsible for preparing myself to share the wonderful story of the death, burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. If I burn up time getting all fired up about other things, then I am taking time away from my real job. Besides, the US is not mentioned in prophecy, unless you want to twist Scripture, so by the time the Lord returns, America will be a weakened nation. The only thing we can do that will have a lasting impact is the sharing of the Gospel.

To the old rugged Cross, I will ever be true
Its shame and reproach gladly bear
Then He'll call me some day to my home far away
Where his glory forever I'll share

          The old, rugged Cross. We tend to not be really comfortable with the Cross. We like the stable scene with the manger. We like the picture of an empty tomb. But the old, rugged Cross was a place of death. We don’t like that very much. But, the old, rugged Cross is where the sacrifice took place that allows me to look forward to heaven. And for me to be a good tool to be used by the Master until I reach heaven, I have to keep the old, rugged Cross front and center in my mind. Political ideologies will come and go, young people will always think different than their elders think and times will always change. But the Cross, well, the Cross makes all the difference.

So I'll cherish the old rugged Cross
Till my trophies at last I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross
And exchange it some day for a crown

          She was from the next school over and she was really, really cute. Her name was Christine and she worked at Frizall Freeze that summer of 1973. Frizall Freeze was one of those little ice cream stands that sat out in the country, usually at a cross roads. On one corner would be a gas station, and on the other would be a little ice cream place. There used to be a lot more of them than there are now. Frizall Freeze was my favorite, mostly because Christine worked there.

          She always seemed happy to see me. Of course, she would have been taught to look happy if Dracula walked up to her window. I was certainly happy to see her. Being a smooth seventeen year old guy, I had devised a plan to get her to go out with me. I would go there a few times and chat with her, then I would take my dog to show her I was sensitive and loving. (Girls really like dogs.) That was it. That was my plan. I thought it was brilliant.

          So, I loaded Rocky in the car one summer evening and headed out. (Rocky was not named Rocky because of Rocky Balboa of the “Rocky” movie fame. He was named for Rocky Colovito, right fielder for the Indians. Its not like I am weird or anything. Besides, Rocky the movie didn’t come out for three more years.) He was excited. I told him we were going for ice cream, but he just knew we were in the car going someplace. We got to Frizall’s and I let him out. Now he understood the ice cream. He had been there before. “OH! HE IS SO CUTE!” All the girls came out to pet him. Yep, the plan was solid. He even got a free ice cream. What is more attractive than a guy and his dog?

          I still had about half my cone and the girls needed to get back to work, so I got Rocky back in the car and then I got in and cranked it up. I backed up, then turned to pull out and at that point Rocky leaped across the seat and grabbed my cone. Startled, I jerked the wheel and ran into the telephone pole that was, for some reason, in the middle of the parking lot. I had no real speed going, so the only damage was the sign they had hanging on the pole advertising their hotdogs or something. The sign cost me $50 and there was no damage to the pole or my car because back in the day they put a serious bumper on a car. The budding romance with Christine was over, though. My pride was badly damaged.

          From 1973 to 2019 has been forty six years. A pretty long time. Since that time, I have driven a lot, a lot more than most people. I have had a few accidents, but none were actually my fault. I have totaled two cars, but on one the other driver went left of center and hit me and on the other, two hears ago, the doctor had cleared me to drive after my heart surgery but was still playing with my meds. I passed out at the wheel and rolled my car. The police didn’t cite me and my insurance didn’t increase. So, forty six years. Pretty cool.

          Until two weeks ago.

          Wal-Mart. Huntington, Indiana. I had just entered the parking lot and was driving on the outer perimeter looking for the lane I wanted. I was looking for traffic and looking for my chosen lane and all of a sudden there was a bump and the car stopped. I had run into a stop sign. At the Wal-Mart in Wabash they don’t have stop signs at the end of the lanes. Actually, there aren’t many in Huntington. But I found one. The stop sign had yellow concrete around the post about four feet high. Kind of hard to miss, actually, but I never saw it. I backed up and parked in a handy parking place. I got out to check damage. The pole was fine. There was paint on it, but nothing my color. I checked my car. The hood had a crinkle, the grill plastic was broke, the fascia (that is the plastic part that covers the flimsy bumper) was bent a little. The car was perfectly drivable except the radiator was leaking. The hood lock was stuck, so I couldn’t see the damage and therefore didn’t know if the radiator was damaged or if it had just popped a hose. I knew I couldn’t drive it like that so I called my insurance. I figured a day or two in the body shop, straighten out a few things and I would be on my way. I had barely been moving, certainly not as fast as that day back in 1973. The air bags didn’t even deploy. No big deal.

          $8200 and I might not get the car back till next month.

          I was stunned. How? I asked the body man. How could that be $8200? He went into this long explanation about how all cars and trucks are built today. In a head on, they are made to crumble. This cushions the blow. The frame has no real strength until it gets back to the cabin area. It used to be a motor could get shoved into the cabin of the vehicle. Not anymore. Now the design pushes the motor down and the vehicle accepts the impact. The car I rolled over because of the mix up on meds was a Honda Fit. The cage that surrounds the cabin area in that car is made of super hardened alloys just for such an event. I didn’t have a scratch. When I replaced that car, I got another Fit. The first one had saved my life by not collapsing like almost any other car would do. But the front end of the Fit is made to fold up, just like all trucks and cars today. Now, my car is in the shop and it is going to cost $8200.

          The insurance adjuster told me not to sweat it. “Mr. Wade, you have all kinds of insurance! Your good!” And it is true. Insurance costs me more than other people. I drive my car for work. I could get it cheaper if I didn’t disclose that, but I could also get in trouble if I had an accident on church business. And, because it is a work vehicle, I have to have some serious insurance. But I was barely moving!

          Still, I understand. Back when Rocky decided he wanted my cone the idea was that a really good bumper and a really good frame were going to protect people. In time, they discovered that all those things protected was the vehicle itself. People were thrown forward into the steering wheel or dash or windshield. Everything was hard and unmoving. There was no cushion. People died in cars that could be driven away from the accident. Vehicles were reengineered and a lot of lives have been saved. I understand.

          And it does have a Spiritual application. For someone who has put their faith in Christ and has accepted Him as Savior, it is understood that life will still be rough. In fact, there is nothing in the Bible, unless you are taking verses out of context, that tells you that if you accept Christ as Savior you will have a great life. Many Christian leaders will say that any hard times you face come because you don’t have enough faith. Keep in mind, though, that these people are also hitting you up for money to buy new jets. No, the Bible talks of struggle and hardship, but it also tells us that the Lord will always be with us. Jesus promised a Comforter. Why, if everything was going to be all happy and candy, would we need a Comforter? The Lord is with the true believer, absorbing the impact of life’s ‘fender benders.’ The Lord is with the true believer, protecting and covering that believer. Life’s misadventures can be really hard, but the Lord is taking more of the impact than we know.

          Rocky lived with my Mom for a long time after that, eventually dying at 17 years. Twice a week she gave him ice cream and he loved her for it. I sold that old car for $50 to a junk hard. That little accident actually made me a better driver. And Christine, I assume, eventually married, had kids and maybe even grandkids. She probably still tells the tale about the kid who tried to act cool and then hit their sign. All of these things make up our lives. It is just so much better with Christ.