My Sebring

Well I made it to Philly safe and sound. Unfortunately, my car is still having issues. Before leaving A2 my mechanic removed my brake shoes (part of the emergency break) because they were rubbing. Turns out the whole "backing plate" is rusted out and needs to be replaced. I find this frustrating as I am trying to sell my car, and I need it to be ready to pass PA inspection when I sell it. 

Why do I want to sell my car? Well I've come to the conclusion/decision/revelation that I need to. You see, I bought that car 6 years ago right about the time I decided that I was going to do life on my own how I best saw fit. It was at that point that I started to live in moral decay and corroded my life with endless bad choices. That car transported me all over the east coast. Some trips innocent, others intentional. I don't doubt that God provided that car for me, but I believe that selling it is, in a way, me letting go of my previous life. 

See when I was driving out here, I was pondering ALL of the things that have gone wrong in my car, and in some way they all seem to correlate to my journey and the story of Jonah that keeps being reaffirmed in my life. First, the timing-belt tensioner and water pump went. For those of you who don't speak car, that's $1500 of parts and labor for the engine parts that control the timing of movement and the amount of water that is used to cool the engine (or something like that). Jonah was asked to give a message in God's TIMING and he ended up in the WATER on his journey to Tarsus.  Additionally, my emergency brake broke. The final saving grace to keep a vehicle from moving when you want it to stay still, broke. To me this is symbolic of my desire to grit my teeth and fight changes in movement that God might ask of me. If my emergency brake doesn't keep me in place, I am free to go where He leads me. 

Anyways, as I was driving here, I realized something profound: I drive a SEBRING. Sea-bring. The sea brought Jonah to Ninevah. And my car has brought me on endless journeys. Now that I embark on this journey, I find it important to sell my "boat" so that I no longer have a way to run away from God and the challenges that He will call me to as I work here and plant this church. Just as Paul did in Acts 16, I think I need to walk a little. Grow some calluses as I sink my anchor into this city and love it the way God loved Ninevah: with fierce ambition and unfailing love.