Dollar Rent-A-Car

This post was written in May of 2004 for our church newsletter, about a week after the conference in question happened.... which explains the odd sense of immediacy in my writing for something that occurred almost a decade ago.

So, I got to the rental car agency Wednesday morning pretty much on schedule. I'd ordered up a sensible compact car (how much room do two guys going to a 3 day conference really need?) Everything was fine until the woman at the counter called the guys out at the lot on the two-way radio. A whispered conversation in "rental car code" ensued: "Have you got 42? No. Well, 15 just came back in. It's not comparable but we don't have anyone taking it out." And so on.

She clicked off the radio and turned to me. "Mr. Jackson, we don't have any compacts. What we're going to do is upgrade you to a PT Cruiser at no charge."

That's right, Mark Carlson & I got to cruise to The Origins Experience in a "cool guy" car. It was a gift from God.

Now, some of you are wondering how in the world I jumped from a rental car upgrade to a "gift from God." I can hear your thoughts even now: "Sheesh, Mark. It's not like God made a sporty car for you out of dirt. The rental car company just gave you an upgrade because they didn't have anything available. Lighten up, already."

Well, no. I think we've become blinded to the goodness of God because we limit our vision of His blessings to those things which look & feel miraculous. We've become a religion that focuses on burning bushes to the exclusion of daily bread - manna. In fact, God gives us so much that we, just like the Israelites in the desert, have come to take it for granted.

The PT Cruiser, I wrote in my journal, reminded me that "You, God, are the one at work in me... help me find the center of following You, instead of just nibbling at the edges." 

Kind of cool how God can use a rental car to draw my heart to Him, eh?