Old vs. New
I have a 1968 Mustang. It is a 6 cylinder with an automatic. I love the car, it is fun to drive and I get waves and thumbs up wherever I go.
I also have a 2008 Mustang. It is a 6 cylinder as well, with an automatic, but this one is a convertible.
Of the two Mustangs, the newer one is much nicer. My ’68 is a classic, but I wouldn’t want to drive a long distance in it. It is kind of noisy, doesn’t have a whole lot of power and doesn’t ride or turn particularly well. Sure, I could fix all those things by adding more modern parts to it, but it is still a car that is over 40 years old.
The new Mustang rides really nice, the engine has gobs of power, and even with the convertible top, it is much quieter. Put the top down on a beautiful day, add my knockout blonde wife to the front passenger seat, and I am a happy camper!
The difference between the two cars shows the difference that time and technology can make. I grew up around muscle cars, and I love the classics, but the new cars are faster, handle better and are more comfortable.
I was thinking about all this the other day when I realized what a difference the years have made in my life, too. I look back at some of my early adulthood and I shiver at the mistakes I made and the people I could have hurt or left with a bad opinion of me. It is so easy to look back and say, “Well, I was young, and young people make mistakes.” To a certain extent that is right, but I think over the years I pushed it a little too hard. My mistakes were avoidable, and young or not, I should have known better and acted better. I yelled at too many umpires, stormed away from too many confrontations and got mad far too easily.
Over the years I have learned to be a lot more mellow, to figure out which hills are big enough to die on, and which ones aren’t. When you really look at it honestly, very few of the hills are all that important!
So what happened to me between 22 and 52? You could say I got old, and I did. More than anything, though, I have finally learned to trust God as my provider and protector. When you think you are the one in charge and that everything depends on you, it is easy to think you have to fix everything. There is tremendous freedom in realizing that God is in charge and I’m not! Realizing that God is going to see me through whatever comes my way gives me hope and peace.
What I have finally decided is that God’s Word is true, no matter what the circumstances look like. This isn’t wild-eyed, blind to the world optimism; it is faith in God. It is finally believing that God’s word applies to me and every situation in my life. Check out these verses:
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Deuteronomy 31:6)
“Why be so gloomy and discouraged? Trust in God. Then I shall praise him for his wondrous help; he will make me smile again.” (Psalm 43:5)
“(God says) I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.” (Psalm 50:15)
Do I still have troubles? Yep.
Do I still have things that don’t go my way? Of course.
The difference is that I have seen what God has done, and that makes me believe that He is going to do even more.
Just like my Mustangs, the newer model of Jerry Godsey is better, more trustworthy, and hopefully more confortable to be around. It’s not anything I’ve done, it’s just finally accepting everything that God has done, and will do in me and through me.
Taking the new Mustang for a spin… Jerry