Fri., June 8, 2018

Galatians 6:6 – Those who are taught the word should share all good things with their teacher.

We watched as our 2004 Jeep pulled out of the Kwik Trip parking lot. Internally, I thought, “Have a good summer, Mr. Jeep.”

At times, the street by our house could be mistaken for a used car lot. Lately, we have had four vehicles playing musical parking spots. Some on the street. Some in our carriage house. Four vehicles for two drivers. I know. A wee bit of overkill.

Hubby Rick and I knew we needed to reduce inventory. For a couple weeks, we talked and prayed about options. Then my friend Mary Ann visited and saw all these vehicles. The next day, she emailed a possible solution. Her granddaughter is participating in a summer ministry program. College students visit communities and hold bible school programs. The program needed two vehicles for the summer. Could we loan one of our vehicles?

Quickly, Rick and I committed our 2004 Jeep. Yes, it’s an older vehicle. It has over 200,000 miles. 204,994 to be exact. But, the college girls could use it for the summer.

This has been Rick’s “work” vehicle. It’s also the “farm truck.” It had a few quirks. Last week, Rick tweaked some things that needed tweaking. The front windshield was replaced. It had cracked when Rick tried to squeeze in a little-too-long 2×4. Sometimes, it has electrical issues. While the driver’s window now works, the other three still aren’t working. Thankfully, the air conditioner works like a champ.

We arranged things with our insurance company. I lined up a time to meet someone to hand it over. Everything was ready to go.

But then, Rick began to wonder out loud if this was a good decision. Over the years, we have loaned out many vehicles to lots of different people. We do this because we feel everything we have is really God’s. As joint caretakers, God “loans” us things. It is our responsibility to use these things for God’s glory. Letting the girls use the Jeep falls into leveraging our possessions for God’s kingdom.

Sometimes when we have loaned a vehicle, something has happened outside of our control. What would happen if the Jeep broke down? What if it stopped working? What if …

Finally, Rick admitted that he is taking over the worrying mode his father often embodied. Either, we would have faith the vehicle would help the girls on their mission work. Or we wouldn’t.

This Jeep is the only new vehicle I have ever had. As I drove it to make the exchange, I remembered how a few weeks after we purchased it, I took a group of kids with it on a mission trip. When we got home, Rick was surprised there was paint on the upholstery. Why had I not been more careful? While I wanted to respect this, we had been using it for God’s work. Paint can be removed.

Faith is looking into the future and not knowing what exactly is going to happen. And being OK with this. I pray that our Jeep will help the college girls who will be using it this summer. I am thankful to share in this ministry, if only through our vehicle.

Have a good summer, Mr. Jeep. We’ll be anxious to hear stories of your great adventures.

For this, I am grateful.

Lord God – thank you for bringing forth this opportunity to share within your Kingdom. We pray the girls who drive the Jeep, those they minister to and anyone they meet will come to love you. We pray this ministry will make a difference in people’s lives this summer. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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