In the fall of 2022, we purchased a 1980’s, Fox Body Mustang for our son for his sixteenth birthday. The plan was for the car, lovingly named Miss Betty Blue, to function as a rolling restoration project. She would serve as JJ’s daily driver and we would repair, replace, and upgrade various portions of the vehicle as both money and time allowed.
Miss Betty Blue is now an overpriced decoration sitting awkwardly in our driveway.
There were no illusions about this project from the outset. I knew the road was going to be bumpy at times, with the occasional set-back every now and again. We have hit some significant bumps along the way. We’ve had the brakes go soft, leading us to not only replace the brake assembly, but upgrade the entire wheel assembly for the front of the car (the parts for the rear assembly are sitting in my garage). We had the fan break free from its mount and spin around like a ninja star, destroying the cooling system, so we replaced the water pump, the radiator and related pieces. And then, just this past week, we hit the big one. As JJ was driving to a car show in Columbus, IN, the engine “blew up,” to use his exact words. Miss Betty Blue is now an overpriced decoration sitting awkwardly in our driveway.
With this recent issue, my resolve has been shaken. As I noted in a previous post, this car was an intentional investment in our son. It was purchased as a means to help him develop useful life skills and to create opportunities for me to spend quality time with my boy. To those ends, the car has served its purpose. We have spent a good deal of time “wrenching” under the hood of that Mustang. We have both learned lessons about how to work on cars, but also about each other. I find myself asking, is it time to get off of this ride. Do I have the desire, let alone the resources, for Miss Betty Blue to be restored to fullness of health?
The question is less about what the man wanted and more about whether or not he had the will to live into what Jesus was offering.
This question has caused me to reflect on a story about Jesus and a lame man found in John 5:1-15. Jesus visits a pool that was believed to have the ability to heal the sick. When the waters would get stirred up, the people would rush to get in first to receive the healing provided. Among the infirmed was a man who “had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.” Jesus walks up and asks him what seems like a rather ridiculous, if not a little rude, question: “Do you want to get well?” One would think the answer to the question would be obvious, but the man’s answer is telling. Rather than simply saying, “YES! That’s why I’m here!” The man starts laying out reasons why he CAN’T get well. He doesn’t have the ability to do it and no one will help him. Jesus wasn’t trying to initiate an awkward conversation with the man; Jesus asked because He had the ability to heal the man and was offering the assistance the man needed. The question is less about what the man wanted and more about whether or not he had the will to live into what Jesus was offering. Would the difficulty he had endured for so long define him, leaving him stranded where he lay, or would he accept the help that was offered and head down the road of life by the grace of God?
Again, I’ve been questioning my resolve to repair Miss Betty Blue the Mustang. It’s one thing to repair parts of an engine, but replacing an entire engine is a mountain of a task. Do I want her to “get well” and get back on the road again? Of course! But… and you could insert any number of excuses as to why that isn’t possible in my own strength here. If I choose to focus on my lack of ability and the overwhelming need for assistance, the car will continue to sit where she is. It’s only through a willingness to reach out for and accept help, wherever God may provide it, that the restoration process will continue and Miss Betty will “get well.”
Too often, we don’t “get well” because we are so busy lamenting the hopelessness of our situations that we fail to see the face of our Savior when He offers us the chance to be made whole.
The same is true in our own lives. Too often, we don’t “get well” because we are so busy lamenting the hopelessness of our situations that we fail to see the face of our Savior when He offers us the chance to be made whole. The first step to being made whole is deciding that is what we want and putting the excuses that threaten to arrest momentum to the side. The next step is call out to Jesus and accept the help He so graciously and continuously offers. We may not “get well” as immediately or in the same way as the man in the story, but Jesus will provide us grace to face our struggle and strength to propel us down the path He has for us.
