Saturday morning “To Do List”
- Rebuild 350 – 4 Bolt main motor on the GMC Truck
Let me explain… I was married to a man that was an absolute savant when it came to cars and trucks and what made them tick. He knew the motor of most any vehicle very intimately. After all he had been working on them all by himself since he was 12 years old. His father left the family when Bruce was 12 and his mom had a Ford Maverick – that should be enough said however, you know me… there is more. There was a family friend that his father used to take his cars to from time to time and this is the man that helped Bruce keep the old Maverick running. Bruce recounted the times he would call this Mechanic friend on some cold mornings when the Maverick wouldn’t start. Now remember, there were no cell phones or portable home phones then. So he would have to run back and forth to the phone inside and then back out to the car to try what the Mechanic told him to do. So if Bruce could get it started it meant a ride to school. Otherwise, he would have to walk quite a distance to get to school, and on those cold mornings in the winter it was no fun to have to do that. He got great satisfaction in knowing he got it started and it kept running. So honestly this is where his love for cars and trucks began. To me, it seemed as if he knew everything about any motor that came into our possession. He saved us thousands of dollars by being our mechanic. He taught me much about them too. I really did enjoy learning how a motor is put together and keeps the car running. I am just a little odd like that. However, I don’t ever want to work on another car again! It was an every weekend thing back then! Now… I don’t have to do that. We have a wonderful mechanic that is a true friend and Christian. Thank God!
OK, back to the point of my story. This Saturday morning, we – Bruce and me – had one thing on our To Do List … were supposed to be completely tearing the 350 – 4 bolt main motor down to rebuild it. He had purchased this truck for a song and the man he bought it from told him that the motor might be cracked because there was oil and water mixed in the motor. This is not a good thing for a motor. If it is cracked, it goes to the trash pile. A cracked block (motor) is NO GOOD! Bruce just didn’t believe it because the guy didn’t seem to really know what he was talking about. So… he set out to prove it. We took it all apart and labeled each item. Then he proceeded to tell me that we had to soak the various pieces in a mixture of hot water and Lemon Joy Dishwashing Liquid. He was very adamant about this. I asked him about that and he explained that he had read about a NASCAR driver that used to do this with his motor parts and when the motor got put back together and was running full tilt, if the motor was about to blow the driver could smell Lemon Joy! Then he could start backing off and shutting it down a bit so it didn’t destroy the motor. Not that Bruce or I would ever be going fast enough to blow a motor, but sometimes they blow for other reasons than just going fast. Besides, the Lemon Joy cleaned the parts so well they were spotless when we washed them off. Some of the parts took a little bit longer to clean than others. But nonetheless they got clean eventually.
After they were cleaned, and we got the motor “block” back from being “ported and polished” – another motor head term … (here is the link to explain what it means) we reassembled everything back to its original place with a new Gasket Seal to keep the oil where it’s supposed to be – in the motor… and Bruce climbed into the cab of the truck and crossed his fingers and said “here goes”. He turned the key and the motor turned over and started up immediately! WOW!!! We did it! It sounded so nice! A nice “lope” – another motor head term – lol. Now that may not seem like a big deal to you but it was to us! This had been a couple of month process, and I was amazed at how this all took place … all those moving parts and oil and spark and gasoline… all made it run! WOW! It was so interesting. Bruce was so happy and so proud! I was proud for him too! He very seldom had great things happen… and this was one of those times and something to be proud of!
Now… let’s take a few steps back and look at that with different eyes – let’s look at the process a Christian goes through before they meet Jesus, when they meet Jesus and after they meet Jesus and live with knowing Him on their journey of life.
When we are living our own way – “in the world” – and being “of the world” we are a lot like the old GMC truck. Not really firing on all cylinders and kind of a mix of the wrong things in our hearts and heads. There are dirty parts and broken parts but we keep running down the road but not really getting anywhere.
Then one day we meet Jesus. He begins to show us where we need some “cleaning up”. He also shows us that some parts need to be completely done away with and replaced with new ones. Others just need some porting and polishing. He shows us where we need to soak some parts and clean them even deeper. Then after all is washed and cleansed by His blood of Calvary, we are like new! We are clean and washed in the blood of the Lamb! Spotless – whiter than snow. We need a new seal on our heart and soul so the bad won’t leak into the good areas anymore. The longer we walk with Jesus the more He shows us how much more He can help us “clean up”. 1 John 1:7 says “7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.”
To top all of that off, Jesus puts this “Warning System” in place in our hearts when we accept Him as our Savior. The Holy Spirit comes to live inside us and help us throughout the days and nights of our journey in this world. The Holy Spirit warns us as we approach a situation that is not right. The still, small voice that says “Do not walk that way, go this way instead”. Our Lemon Joy – so-to-speak.
So you see, we are not that different from that old GMC pickup truck. We are made new when we meet Jesus and still need Him every day, every moment of our lives after we have that encounter with Him. He has made us new. He is our Savior, our Friend, our closest companion. He loves us so much He died for us so we could spend eternity with Him in Heaven!
Have you accepted Jesus into your life? Have you asked Him to come in and clean things up a bit? He is waiting to hear from you. He will rebuild you from the inside out and your life will never be the same! He loves you so much! Talk to Him today. After all He calls you His beloved.
In Him,
Leah
le**@my*******.com
The Song – Take My Worlds Apart – Jars of Clay
+ There are no comments
Add yours