Riding our bicycles back from East Aurora to our farm one day (three miles), my brothers and I spotted a 1961 Studebaker for sale. For some of you younger readers—that was a car.
The owner was asking $25 for it. My brother Dave figured out that if we all chipped in $8.34, we could own our first field car. I do not know why my dad went along with it, but he did. He probably figured it would teach us some needed lessons in life, and it did.
Now mind you, this car had no floors. Just a few pieces of plywood. It was quite a thrill to look down through the floor and see the grass fly by in a blur as we bombed through the fields down the pasture.
I do not know what lessons my brothers learned, but here are a few I remember:
First—You cannot speed recklessly in one direction without encountering unmovable objects. (I almost lost a brother that way, when the steering went on him.) Sometimes the collisions we have on the broadway of life are God’s way of getting us off the road we are on. Maybe it is time to turn around.
Second—Engines need oil. They need fresh oil and regular maintenance. Take a minute and look up Psalm 92:10 and Titus 3:8 in your Bible. Your former experiences with the Holy Ghost may be old and worn out. Quit living on past experiences. Are you close to God today? We never put oil in our Studebaker, and once that engine seized up it never ran again.
Third—Test your brakes once in awhile. The same brother mentioned above barely missed a tree at 45 m.p.h. when he discovered his were shot. You know, temperance is a Bible word. Self Restraint! The ability to tell ourselves “NO” and stop ourselves before damage is done. Divine brakes.
