Cars and Life

Spring has sprung in my area of the world, and usually around this time of year, you start to see some fancier cars and motorbikes on the road again. You might come across the occasional Corvette or super car in the winter time if the roads are clear, dry, and relatively salt-less, but for the most part, many will be hibernating until the time has come for them to awaken from their slumber.

Like a lot of boys growing up (and I’m sure there are a good amount of ladies as well), I found myself infatuated with cars. I remember sitting in my front lawn from time to time, just watching the wheels of the passing cars and trucks roll on by the house. The pulse-pumping sounds, the sleek lines, unique shapes, and multitudes of colors of these machines cascading the road were very captivating.

It also wasn’t uncommon to be at my grandma’s house on many Sundays through the summer with my parents, cousins, aunts, and uncles with a NASCAR or IndyCar race on TV. Growing up in a family and with relatives all involved in the automotive industry in some capacity as well, I was destined to get integrated in some way with cars.

I guess technically my first powered vehicle was a Power Wheels Bigfoot monster truck that I would ravage around my parent’s property (ok, so I wasn’t exactly tackling large dirt mounds or crushing cars, but it was a lot of fun and learned some motor skills while I was at it). My buddy next door also had something similar; a little red jeep that was of similar stature. We owned the neighborhood.

Joking aside, my first real car ended up being a 1999 Saturn SL2 in black cherry (or purple, depending on who you ask 😅) I paid in cash for around $2,600. And because The Fast and the Furious had raced into theaters just a few years prior to my first car purchase, I had to have a stick shift and a blank canvas to trick out…so that ended up being the deal at the time.

As you might expect for a starter vehicle, it was a little beat up to start with. The hood had tons of paint chips, and some panels on the rest of the body had some textured paint overspray, but all in all, it was actually a solid first car to have some fun with. It needed a bit of TLC for sure, but not a bad starting point to tackle at all.

My dad was of great help in getting this thing a bit more in tip-top shape. He helped wheel out the car body with some multi-step paint restoration polish kits, and we also ended up getting the hood repainted for a pretty solid price (it helps to know some people in the auto repair industry). Mechanically it actually didn’t need a ton of work (if I remember correctly), so that was a blessing. It did burn some oil, but it ended up being a very reliable car in the end.

With a little bit of elbow grease, time, the right tools, and a little bit of money, I would say this thing went a bit up in value pretty quick just from that amount of work alone compared to the purchase price. I was ecstatic at how different it looked.

Now of course, I took it a step further over a year or two by putting on a header-back exhaust, integrating a full sound system, red neon lights, window tint, intake, some headlight covers, and a full set of wheels and tires. I had made my “Fast and the Furious” emulation of a vehicle; I loved it and I will take no shame in that (honestly, I wish I had more pictures to share 😂).

It was loud, perhaps a bit obnoxious, not fast, but I tried to take a relatively clean approach to the overall design and look. It would’ve been fun to go all out and add a turbo and all that sort of thing, but it wasn’t really in the budget in my own right as a high school student at the time (nor did I feel like accidentally making things worse for the car if I didn’t go about the process right).

The turbo came later when I bought an electric blue Dodge Neon SRT-4 as my second car purchase in my life, but that’s a different story.

Restoration Within the Tainted

It is bringing new life to something that most would’ve counted as discardable.

Though tricking out a car takes the idea of restoration a bit further into territory of reflecting God’s creative power, this story is more about the idea of restoration in and of itself (though creativity can be integrated with that as well).

Like you see so often in life (or on your favorite HGTV or MotorTrend television show), restorations can be found in many places throughout the world. Broken down or abandoned hot rods, homes that have fallen apart, etc…it is so amazing to me when people come in and restore what once was, and bring new life to something that is unrecognizable from what it had become.

You don’t always see the whole chronicle as to what happened to those cars and homes, but even if you catch a glimpse of what it was before and what it is after restoration, it really is uplifting and encouraging. It is bringing new life to something that most would’ve counted as discardable.

I utter all this to say that I believe that restoring homes, vehicles, artwork, furniture, etc, is simply a mirror to what God does with us when we come to Him and follow Him.

Like vehicles, our bodies break down, or perhaps have an engine, wiring, or a body part that doesn’t always function as one might expect (or gets broken and needs repair). The effects of sin and brokenness are all around us (Romans 5:12).

Sometimes we get involved with things that aren’t beneficial. Even though God has laid out certain commandments and things to keep away from for our benefit because of His love towards us (Deuteronomy 10:12-13, Matthew 7:13-14), we will often find our way into something that isn’t perfectly advantageous for us because we veered onto the wrong road, or perhaps you just became intertwined with the circumstance of someone else’s choices.

In other words, if you try to drive a slammed-to-the-ground tuner car onto a sand dune, you’re not going to end up with a great outcome.

Other times we get into accidents in our lives. Not much different than a vehicle that gets damaged when hit, we can also have many things happen to us (whether directly our fault or not). This could be physical, psychological, or circumstantial.

All of those things can leave a mark on our body and soul, as well as on others. It’s not always on purpose, but it is an unfortunate reality in the current dynamics of our world.

It is often painful getting repaired in the process (I wonder if a car feels the same way if it needs an engine transplant or a new suspension installed 😏). Healing from past wounds (physical, mental, or spiritual), or just having to keep up on staying in top shape as you age; it can be exhausting.

But as the restoration process takes place amidst the suffering and becomes more complete, you start to feel alive again. No longer do those past things hinder your mind or body as much. Instead of running on a misfiring spark plug, you’re able to hit the throttle again and accelerate with smoothness and joy.

It doesn’t mean that the past things didn’t occur. But it no longer has power over you.

When we live from a place of forgiveness (towards self and others), patience, understanding, and confidence in who is actually in control of our lives, it frees us (Romans 8:1-4, Galatians 5:1). This isn’t to say that it is easy by any means to live out, but I believe it to be true.

God’s Restorative Plan (Now and Eternal)

Christ working on us and through us, by nature, is often about restoration and reconciliation (1 Peter 5:10, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21).

Though it’s amazing to see before and after photos of cars or homes that have been restored, how much more so when you see how Christ has turned the life of someone else around? Or when someone beats cancer, makes a comeback in their sports career, or overcomes an addiction?

Now, whether you’re restored in the physical here and now is often nuanced, but He does desire to restore us in many ways (2 Corinthians 5:17). Even when you are restored on some level while you’re down here, we still live in this world where even a refurbished vehicle will either break down again, become obsolete (not you as a soul or your worth in Christ, but your current physical body), and eventually unable to function at all (physical death). Sometimes that happens in the blink of an eye, or sometimes it’s over a prolonged period of time.

Though I haven’t personally been restored perfectly in every area of my life or with every ailment I face, I have experienced flickers of hope in my walk with Christ these last 3 years.

I’ve had many emotional healings due to letting go of shame, anger, rage, unforgiveness, and traumas as memories have made their way to the surface over time for processing. And as I wrote about in part 3 of my recent “3 Years Walking with Jesus” series, one of the most physically painful experiences of my life actually was a restoration of my lower back’s posture being snapped into place in a single moment.

Though the initial experience of these healings was not fun in any sense of the word, the end results have been fruitful on many levels.

The good news though is that once we leave this temporary vehicle suit that we’ve all been given, those who believe in Jesus will become fully restored forever, similar to what Jesus was like after He resurrected (John 11:25-26, Philippians 3:21).

We will experience a body and life that we might’ve only caught glimpses of during our earth existence, but on a whole new unimaginable level not seen since before the fall of creation in Genesis (1 Corinthians 15:35-58).

A body with an engine and wiring and parts that won’t die…that won’t rust or break…and won’t suffer ever again (Revelation 21:4).

What a day that will be to drive off into heaven and eventually new earth.

How has Jesus done a work in your life to restore? Was it a relationship/friendship? Mental healing? Physical healing? Leave a comment below!

God Bless,

Corey