Mile After Mile

She was made the year I was born. My car seat sat in her back seat when I was a toddler. She drove me to school every day. When I turned 16, I was handed her keys. She went to college with me and drove me to work every day after that. She has watched me grow up and has been a part of every stage in my life. Yes, we go way back. 

Meet Lucy. She's my 1992 Honda Accord. 

We know each other well. I know that she doesn't like the cold weather because it makes her groan in the front right part of the hood. I know that she can go 420 miles on one tank of gas and that you have to click her gas cap two times when you screw it shut or she will turn on the check engine light. I know her quirks, like how you have to hold the driver's side door handle open while pressing the button to get her to lock. I know exactly how fast she can go in each gear, and I know the feel of her clutch like no one else. I have cleaned all her nooks and crannies. I know how she smells kind of musty when it rains, but I don't mind. 

And she knows me well. She knows how loud I can sing and how awful it sometimes sounds. She has heard me laugh hard and seen me cry hard. She has heard some of my heartfelt prayers. She has listened in on conversations with some of the most important people in my life. She knows all my friends. She has been with me to my favorite places in the world. 

We have traveled a lot of miles together, me and Lucy. She has been with me on a lot of my mile markers in life, and I have been with her for a lot of her mile markers, too. Especially this week when she turned over 300,000 miles. 

Carrying on the family tradition, I did the same thing that my dad did when he was driving her as she turned over 100,000 miles. I pulled over exactly as all the nines rolled over to zeros. I got out of the car, kissed her on the hood, ran all the way around her, and jumped back in. 

My mother got to be a spectator for this monumental moment, as well as a random jogger out for his afternoon run. 

I can't help but feel a sense of closure after an event like this. I just don't think I could have left the country when Lucy only had 299,956 miles. But we did it, Lucy and I, and so we celebrated together, and now I turn the keys over once again to my dad, who I know will take good care of her while I am gone. 

I can't help but think about my new vehicle waiting for me in Burkina Faso right now. He sealed the deal that I was going to move to Burkina Faso because he was the first purchase that I had to make. I did not buy him on my own though. God provided an amazing amount of money in a very short period of time through the generosity of his people. Therefore, he is already a symbol of God's faithfulness to me. That's how he got his name already - Old Faithful. 

As one set of miles is finished, a whole new set of miles is yet to begin. There are many new adventures yet to come, many roads yet to travel. There are more journeys to take, more friends to meet, and more prayers to be prayed in the cab of Old Faithful. This is yet another stage in life, and I think it deserves a whole new set of mileage. I can't wait to kiss the hood and get going. 

It is kind of late for a New Years blog post - you know, one about fresh starts and setting goals and drinking more water. It's almost half way through the month and ninety percent of people have already given up on their resolutions anyway. The good news is this: in Christ, every day is a new day. Every single day is the start of a brand new adventure. 

We don't have to wait for the beginning of the year to make resolutions. God is constantly molding and changing our lives. He is constantly shaping our hearts. Likewise, we ought to be constantly changing our thinking and behavior to be modeled after the image of Christ. 

So it kind of feels strange to make New Years resolutions anyway, because aren't we doing this kind of thing all along? It is nothing special to set goals for growth because that's a normal part of life when we follow Jesus. We are always growing, always changing, always becoming. 

Today is a new day, the start of a new stage in our journeys with Jesus. What is one thing that you want Jesus to do for you in this season? And what is one thing that you want to do for him? Let these questions (instead of New Years resolutions) guide our thinking and behavior as we seek to be more like Christ. 

In this journey, maybe you are starting the keys for the first time. Maybe you are turning over one thousand miles, or maybe you have reached over three hundred thousand. Wherever you are, no matter what condition you are in, nor what the weather around you is like, know this: you are on the adventure of a lifetime, and the Lord is with you mile after mile.