The Race Val

So I got a new cell phone the other day...with Sprint so that I can actually use it in my house and where I work.  What a concept!  Anywho, when setting up the security settings at the store, they asked me to choose a security question.  One of the options was "your first car." 

That got me to thinking about the ole' '64 Plymouth Valiant 4 door I bought back in '83.  I bought it for $300 from Mrs. Wadsworth down the street.  Her husband Bob and I sang bass in the church choir until he passed away.  She didn't need two cars so she sold it to me.

I'll never forget that day.  When she opened the garage, I thought I had seen the most beautiful car in the world!  It had chrome bumpers (you younger readers can Google "chrome" to see what that is) and grille.  It had 102,000 miles on it, and a little rust, but to me, it was brand new.

I drove that car for the next three years...using it more as a truck at times.  My horse saddle fit nicely over the bench front seat and the back seat and trunk could haul quite a few bales of hay.  I hit a deer with it the first Fall I owned it, but thanks to Dad and the junkyard, I got it back on the road in no time.  I LOVED that car...and I thought at that moment, "I wish I still had it."

Now I have two very newerish cars that run great, and a newerish Harley Hawg to tool around town upon. So I was thinking as I was waiting for the phone transaction to be complete, why do hold onto the past like this?  Why is our first car so memorable?  Why do we often want to return to those days?  It seems we forget about all the problems and issues and cares of the times long past...

Lord, help me to live for you in this day, thanking you for all that's past, but more so looking forward to what you have in store next!