The Green Suburban

Well, today is the day that we are supposed to transfer title from my folks to us for their car.  I’ve been working hard to get our garage straightened out so that we can fit the car in.  Can’t have my new baby out in the cold you know!  My Dad has always taken good care of his cars over the years.  He has also always had an eye for nice looking vehicles as well!  Both of these traits were passed on to me and I believe have been passed on to my kids.  This “new to us” car is a Black 2002 Buick Regal complete with leather seats and chrome wheels and has traveled only a little over 16,000 miles!  It is in even better shape than the 1989 Camaro I had when I purchased it used back in 1996. 

Since we really do not need a second vehicle, we will be parting ways with my wife’s Suburban.  It has been a terrific family excursion vehicle.  I have to admit though, that over the thirteen years that we have owned our Suburban, it has only been garaged for about one and a half years.  Due to its size, it has had to stay out through wind and rain, sleet and hail in California as well as snow and ice storms while in Oklahoma. 

It was a little funny (well… it’s funny now!) when we moved from one residence to another when we lived in Oklahoma.  The first place was a new home with a three car garage.  The Suburban fit fine, and for awhile I had the pleasure of not having to chip off the ice before I could get in during the winter.  When the owner moved into town and we needed to move out we found another place nearby with a two car garage.  A few weeks after we were settled, I measured the garage door opening to see if the truck would fit and happily discovered that it would squeeze under with inches to spare.  So the next day I worked real hard to make room by organizing the garage, finding open space for boxes throughout the house and in particular making countless trips upstairs to our master bedroom, which had a large walk in closet.  Finally everything was finished and I fired up the Suburban and smugly proceeded to drive into the garage.  When I stopped as close to the inside wall as I could get, I turned to see my younger son laughing.  Climbing out of the vehicle I stood there dumb founded as he exclaimed, “Gee Dad, it sticks out by over a foot!”  Remember a few days ago when I wrote about being thankful at all times?  Well, thankfulness was not the first thing on my mind at that time!

Anyway, the truck survived another year in the extreme weather out there and got us all back safely to the moderate temperatures here in northern California.  That vehicle has been the most comfortable vehicle that we have ever owned.  It is the only one that we could ride in for six or more hours at a time and still feel relaxed when we got out!  I was talking to our older son about it yesterday and I realized that our big green 1998 Suburban is sort of the last physical family connection that we still have to our kid’s childhood.  That thought definitely set off some poignant memories flowing through me… 

After years of suggesting to me the need for such a big vehicle, my wife (with some assistance from the Lord!) finally convinced me to get in faith with her for the truck.  So to make a long story short… soon after that, I received a promotion at work which literally tripled our monthly income.  A month after that I was asked to become the assistant Pastor at out growing church.  Suddenly we found ourselves with more than enough means to purchase a new Suburban.  Isn’t God good!

I could write multiple paragraphs describing all the fun-filled miles that this vehicle racked up over the years.  Driving on family camping trips with and without our trailer, the daily rides to school for the kid’s band practice, weekly rides to ballet practice for the girls, soccer and basketball games for the boys, trips to various gigs when our older son was in a couple of Christian rock bands, ISP field trips, church youth group events, my wife’s taking the entire neighborhood to church each Sunday morning, and the traveling to Oklahoma and back.  Then of course, there was the greatest adventure of all, the training of all four of our kids in the art of driving!  (Thank God… for some reason they all liked to drive the Suburban over the Camaro.  I think it was because the truck had a better sound system!)

I can remember my Dad tearing up when he traded in our family’s 1965 Chevy Chevelle wagon for a new Camery after all of us kids were married and out of the house.  At the time I thought that it was a little funny.  Now I have a greater understanding.  It wasn’t just because it had been a good little wagon.  It was because it had been THE FAMILY WAGON with the same types of memories connected to it that our Suburban has.

So, it is with a sense of sadness and a few tears that I say “Thank You and Good Bye” to the big green Suburban.  (You know… to this day, I still can’t get it into the places that my wife could.  She could park that thing just about anywhere!  I still drive to the end of the parking lot to give myself plenty of room!)  As I mentioned above, that car was a gift from the Lord and it was given to accomplish a specific purpose at a specific time in our lives.  (see Philippians 4:19) I look forward now, to the even greater adventures that lie ahead of us and toward the provisions that the Lord will provide in order for us to accomplish the things that He calls us to.

Have a wonderful weekend as you accomplish your callings for Him with the tools that He has provided for you to use.  Stay tuned and keep asking yourself… “What GOOD THINGS am I expecting TO ACCOMPLISH today?”