My wife and I just bought a new
car. Well, new to us, at least. That was some of the debate, in fact, during
the whole “joyous” car buying process: Should we buy new or used? There are advantages to both, of course, and
as this isn’t a car-advice column I won’t get into that side of things too
much. So, for me, I admit that perhaps
the biggest non-quantifiable factor I kept coming back to was, “How would the
car do on long road trip?”
Perhaps this is some erroneous
thinking on my part, but I’m always worried about how my car will do on the ‘long
trip’. My thinking is that if a car
breaks down close to home, I’ll be okay.
Sure, I’ll get frustrated, I’ll reach for my wallet, but in the end I
know I will be fine. After all, around
home I have friends or family that can help me out. Perhaps give me a ride, or loan me a car if I
need it. I have the mechanic that I know
and trust to go to first, before I need to go anywhere else. Around home, I have the resources I trust to
get me through whatever my car problem might be.
But on the
road, well, that’s another issue entirely.
If my car breaks down when I’m far from home, suddenly I’m much more
nervous. I don’t have the family or
friends to rely on, at least not in the same way. I can’t ask too many people to drive hundreds
of miles just for a lift. And as for
that trusted mechanic, he’s a ridiculously expensive tow-truck trip away. I’m in trouble out on the road, which really
is my big fear. Again, right or not, this
was my thinking, and it helped make my car buying decision.
Since then,
I’ve been thinking. This feels to me more
and more akin to how I feel about my faith as well. Do you ever feel the same way? My faith doesn’t worry me in the normal,
day-to-day routines of my life. When I
go about a regular day: school, work, home, there is nothing that makes me
think, “Oh, I hope my faith will hold up to all of this.” I’m ready for everything, or at least so I
think. And if something were to put a
bump into my path: I get a project at work that is a little more than I can
handle. Some stress at home affects my
relationship with my kids. In those
times I know I have the resources around me to call on for help. Family and friends, a local church perhaps, they’re
all quickly at my disposal for just such a fix and overhaul.
However, it’s when I get out of my
routine, when I go on the hard, long trips in my life that suddenly I begin to
wonder if my faith will hold up. When my
road ahead suddenly has a long-term medical issue that is far beyond routine, I
question if my faith is strong enough to hold up, and not break down along the
way. Or maybe I hit what I think is just
a little financial pothole, only it turns out to be something much worse. It’s a job loss that now means I’m on a long,
scary road that I haven’t been on before and with no exit in sight. Those routine check-ups I should have been
doing, but have been skipping, suddenly worry me. Time in prayer, growing closer in my walk
with God, those things that would really give me assurance on my now tough road
ahead. Now I’m asking, “Did I do it
enough to know that my faith is strong and ready?” Is my faith read for a long hard trip, one
that I might not even known I was about to take?
These are
the tough questions we should ask when it comes to our faith, but I feel that
we rarely do. Which is so ironic. When you think about how much thought and
energy I went into just to buy a car, shouldn’t I put the same energy and
foresight into something far more necessary and important to my everyday life?
How is your
faith? Ready for the long haul? Ready to be road-tested? And, if not, what can you do to be prepared
for your next road trip? It may be time
for a tune-up. Sure it will take time,
but better now than after you’re already stranded on the road!
Bill Walles
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