Never Say Never

I think a little bit of me died that day...  We've been looking at minivans for a while now - going back and forth...and back and forth...and back and forth.  Are we going to do it?  Do we want to spend the money right now?  Maybe we should just get a 4 Runner with a third row.  Maybe we should just be content with the two very well-running vehicles we have.  We came to the conclusion a week ago Sunday that we'd just wait...the time wasn't right...we'd wait on God's timing. Well Monday morning a pretty good deal showed up at one of the local dealers.  Not too new, not too old, super low miles and a fair asking price.  We thought about it, prayed about it, talked 'em down a little, and voila - we are now the proud owners of a 2006 Honda Odyssey!

Proud?  Ha!  This was on my Never Ever list....ever.  I will never own a minivan.  I would rather buy the biggest, gas-guzzling SUV they make to haul around all our stuff.  It's just not cool, and I'm cool....right?  Time went on and my friends were dropping like flies...all giving in to the power of the minivan.  "It's so convenient," they said.  "So easy to get kids in and out of...they pretty much do it themselves," they said.  "They're so practical."  Ugh!  I don't care!

Well, guess what?  Two kids, tons of road trips, and an RA diagnosis later, I finally decided, 'Hmmm...a minivan would be nice.'  Will's to the point where he can get himself into and out of the Rav...nice, but I know on one of theses windy SD days he's gonna fling that door open and put a huge ding in someone else's ride.  My RA has made it about impossible to lift Micah, let alone Will, up into the truck.  And road trips...they've become almost nightmarish.  So...here we are...

I was thinking about my waning disdain for minivans...why did I hate them so much?  It made me think about how different my life is compared to ten years ago.  All the changes that have gone on...the transformations.  I'm doing a slow crawl through Ephesians right now (thanks to the recommendation from a fellow minivan-driving-mom and friend) and I'm loving it.  In the first few chapters Paul talks about our spiritual transformation...

"As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient...But because of His great love for us, God who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved."  ~Ephesians 2: 1-2,5

I think sometimes as Christians its easy to take on the Us-Them Mentality.  After all, there is a war going on and we need to stand up against evil, right?  Right, but let us not forget where we came from...what we've been through, and who it was that brought us through it.  Paul says all of us lived among the world at one time.  We all gratified the cravings of our sinful nature.  The truth is I was once completely lost...a sinner by nature and an object of wrath.  I carried a disdain for Christians, much like the disdain I had for minivans.  Being labeled as a 'Follower of Christ' was on my Never Ever list.  But my life has changed, and it has not been my own doing.  I did not come to the point of salvation by myself.  It is by grace you have been saved.  My Jesus died on the cross for my sins 2000 years ago, and because of what He did, I have the promise of salvation.  I'm so glad He brought me past the point of 'Never Ever.'  Let us remember this...let us not have the Us-Them Mentality...let us remember where we came from and show love to those who have not yet experienced God's incomparable love.  You never know who He's going to choose to pour His grace onto next.