Monday, April 23, 2007
Only God Can Give Us a New Life
I finally found one I took a liking to. It was a typical one gallon Prestone Antifreeze can (before the plastic containers). Likely you used to see them in the store.
Shiny and new they are a deeper shade of glossy red. The can was rectangular and the ends were shiny silver. The body was the colorful painted part. The corners on the sides were rounded.
My can carried just enough paint to be identifiable. Angular wounds in the metal on one side almost disfigured that side beyond recognition.
I choose it as an example of being perfectly shot up. I took it home, stored it, and even moved it with me around the country.
In 1980 I found a higher calling for my can.
It underwent therapy.
I masked off one side. Bought a paint that matched the original and painted that side. I also applied some band-aides to the holes on that side.
Now my can had a side that was well "fixed" and a side that was well still shot to pieces.
Then I gave my can a new job.
I showed it to damaged people.
We talked about damage. I showed them the shot-up side during this part of our talk.
Then we talked about "getting back to normal." I showed off the "fixed" side while we talked about therapy, healing, coping, and such like.
Clearly it needed a miracle to be restored: I pointed out that short of an industrial miracle my can would never function as it was intended by its original manufacturer. That life was over.
A silly fool might think that if I kept tinkering with it I might one-day fix all its holes
A New Life: Now I noted that this Prestone can had actually come into a new life, and that getting back to being a normal, ordinary Prestone can was highly overrated.
It did not live with other Prestone cans in a store any more. No, this can was now -- a teacher. It had a new job, purpose, and place in life. Now, it would have a teaching career, one that continued year after year, while most Prestone cans were used once and trashed forever.
Sadly circumstances took my Prestone can away for me, but even now it lives in my memory and maybe your heart, too.
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1 comment:
Who are you? Amazing, I know that from the comments you have left me on my blog.
You keep speaking to me so powerfully and this post is amazing.
Whoever you are - thank you.
Do you mind telling me how you found my blog?
Di
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