“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference…”

The Serenity Prayer

Here is a story that may be a parable but is, most likely, simply an analogy. Regardless, I find it useful.

This week I went through the carwash for the first time in probably 45 years. Seriously, for most of my life I have never found the need to use one. I don’t posses much in the way of handy skills but I can at least wash a car! Here in Tarboro, however, we don’t have a garage, we have messy trees, and we recently purchased a new to us car that I want to take decent care of.

So there I was at the carwash, and I had no idea what to expect. First, a couple of guys squirted stuff and washed the outside with long handled mops. Then they waved me on and another guy beckoned me forward into the open jaws of the “Tidal Wave” tunnel.

• “Run your wheels into this slot.”
• “Put your vehicle in neutral.”
• “Make sure your windows are up.”
• “Take your hands off the steering wheel.”
• “Do not touch the brakes.”

Then all of a sudden my car starts moving by itself. I can see nothing, but I feel movement and vibrations and I can sense approaching massive things that rotate, and there is tons of water and more stuff squirted and more huge giant spongey things, and I am in the tunnel and my car is moving and I have no control whatsoever.

This feels a lot like the last couple of weeks in our lives. A tunnel. No control. Stuff happening. A sense of urgency but no real knowledge of the path forward. Overwhelm. Then this feeling of being pulled along – no plan, no sway, no power, no agency, no steering, no brakes, no idea of when it will end.

Then, out of nowhere, another huge rotating mop comes down followed by a wall of water, and it’s the final rinse.

Now that’s more like it!

Through the tunnel!

Personally, I think we are way overdue for some kind of a rinse. Or at least could we at least maybe come up for air?

Tidal Wave. It’s a good analogy. Life sometimes hits you hard, knocks you down and then sucks you back in.

Meanwhile we are more than holding on; Rebekah I have faith that, as Jesus said, “Don’t give me your qualified ‘ifs’! Everything is possible for the one who believes.” (Mark 9:23). – DEREK