November 27 – “The Great Debate”

Thanksgiving Day. For us today meant packing up food and heading to Bay City to spend the day with Granny and Grandub, Mark and Michelle and Taylor and Cheyenne, Lee, and Lynn and his family. Kel and Christina and their boys came. Nathan and April did, too. It was a typical holiday family gathering. We brought the turkey and dressing. Granny fixed tamales and chicken and dumplings. We had turkey cupcakes (courtesy of Jachin and Micah), and pies and cheesecake and even ice cream was an option. We picked oranges off the tree and ate them. Without a doubt it was a Thanksgiving feast. Our months-old Great Debate also came to somewhat of a head today. See, for quite some time now we have needed a new car. We really don't want to take on a car payment, though. Especially not now that we don't have any idea how much it will take to rebuild our house. Our 1997 minivan has become less and less reliable, until we can't trust it beyond driving around town. The "Check engine soon" light stays on all the time. It leaks when it rains, so it smells musty all the time. It's fine for loading up fishing gear and picking up live bait. It's great to keep all our house cleaning gear in – boots, masks, towels, snacks, boxes, Clorox. Last night I gave Kel a ride in it. I know that sounds like it's some kind of Six Flags attraction – and sometimes it is. But this time we just wanted to get where we were going and get back home. It was already dark. We pulled up to our destination and parked under a street light to wait for the guy who would let us in to the building. Suddenly, Kel jumped like he had been shot. He started stomping his feet and shouted, "You have a roach in your car!" I replied, "Yeah. That's George. He lives in here with his family. We see him every now and then." He answered, "Well, not any more. I got him." Sure enough, he had squished poor George. It didn't take long, long for the rest of the family to come out of hiding to check on their missing counterpart. Kel saw a few of them, too. Then for some reason Kel decided that he would rather wait outside for a few minutes. We finished the errand and crawled back into the good ol' van to head home. Kel started stamping his feet and said, "Let's just go. Let's hurry up and get home." I guess he was cold or something. Surely it couldn't be our van. Today we found out something more about the 1992 Explorer. We already knew that it was one of the series that had been determined to be structurally unsafe – it rolls over easily. Most recently the temperature gauge had gone out. It still drives better than the van, though, so it is our "Away" car – the one we use for trips. That's the one we were in. Headed for Bay City and our big family gathering. Chris was driving. I was reading/napping. (Hey! I just read that napping increases creativity and memory. I need all of that I can get). Anyway, we were just outside of Bay City when a trooper passed us going the other direction. As we all do, Chris (and I!) checked the speedometer. Firmly planted on 60. We're safe. The trooper made a U-turn behind us and started following. After a few miles, the inevitable happened. The lights came on. Not the headlights. The "other" lights. Chris again checked the speedometer. Still 60. The trooper didn't pass, though, so Chris slowed and started to pull out of his way. He followed. She slowed some more. So did he. She stopped. So did he. He came over to her window for a visit. He asked for her license and if she knew the speed limit. She replied that she thought it was 60. "It is," he said, "So why are you going 68?" In that sweet Chris-like way she let him know that the speedometer read 60. He asked if we had put on bigger tires. I guess that affects the speedometer. Then he asked if she still lived in Galveston. I guess that, combined with the fact that Chris just doesn't look like the type to be speeding, led him to say, "Well, get your speedometer checked. And have a Happy Thanksgiving." No ticket. But another problem to consider in the Great Debate. Which one of these endearing old clunkers do we trade in? Can we really handle a car note right now? I guess we all have a Great Debate at some point in our lives. Sometimes it's over silly things like trading in cars or getting someone a particular gift for Christmas. Sometimes it's more serious, like whether to have a particular surgery or should you ask her to marry you? Jesus debated all the time with religious leaders, but he seemed to be having fun. It was when he debated with himself that it got tough. The Great Debate of Jesus came in the Garden of Gethsemane. And the final decision there was, in Jesus' own words: "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42). Father, we still don't know what to do about a car. It's not a very spiritual decision, but it does affect my family, so I want to make the right one. In all things, though, I want my prayer to be yours – not my will, but yours be done. Amen.