FORD Tough-- Part 4 Daily dying and rising

For some reason, my pickup keeps dying and rising. Almost daily it felt like. It'd die on my. I'd bring it into Grant, my mechanic, and then it's get back to working again. Only to die and rise again. Grant is an amazing mechanic and honestly, I want to see if I can take lessons from him on how to take care of my pick up.

Each time people ask me about my pick up, I keep having to admit that the blasted thing is younger than me and in need of repair. The engine's good. Don't get me wrong. The engine itself is in good working order, it's the seals and gaskets that are breaking down. Looking at the engine, it looks amazing, but it's what's on the inside I can't always see.

I've been talking about being FORD tough with FORD standing for "Fix or Repair Daily." (you can check out parts 1,2,and 3 if you'd like)Part of being FORD tough is acknowledging the need to constantly be fixed or repaired daily. Now here is how we can be fixed and repaired daily.

Step 1: Know that you can't do it yourself. Unless you're like the most perfect mechanic in the world and can just wave your hand and make it all fixed, then there's no way you can fix it yourself. No Haynes book in the world will help you. You need to rely on something else.

Step 2: Ask for help. There is the perfect mechanic (and no, it's not Grant, though he's good). Only the perfect healer can heal, only the one True Mechanic can fix and repair you. Come to Him for help. And be willing to receive his help.

Step 3: Be willing and ready to be repaired daily.

So, how can we do step 3? Stop hanging on, loose your life to gain it.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. Matthew 16:24-25

This is where some might get mad at me. It's more than just being good. It's more than just being strong willed, more than just standing firm against all odds, more than just having true grit, more than just being willing to take a beating. It's one thing to lay your life down for a cause for the greater good. Commendable, yes, but that's not being FORD tough. To be FORD tough is to not hang onto your life, but to give it up to Jesus instead to use it. And that is the hardest thing.

To be FORD tough, to live a life of being fixed or repaired daily means giving yourself completely and fully over to the One True Mechanic, the One True Physician, Jesus (yes, I said it) and then and only then can you truly be fixed or repaired daily.

If you've done this, given yourself over then be willing to daily stop hanging on to your old self, the past mistakes, the mess-ups, the cracking seals and gaskets, and daily allow the One True Mechanic to repair you.

If you haven't...come, be repaired daily...