Toyota is having a run of bad press lately. So I thought I might put in a good word to help balance the equation. Yesterday, we bid a tearful adieu to our faithful servant, a 1999 Toyota Avalon. Even in the brief moments before our parting, she was still smiling with her trademark grin (pictured above), declaring with playful smile, "Where would you like to go?" Dubbed "The Grey" (same name as Gandolf before his promotion), she was (like Gandolf) dependable to the end.
We bought this Avalon from a cricket rancher (farmer?) in Mississippi who just "had to have" a new PT Cruiser when they first came out. The Grey was in immaculate condition and had about 30,000 miles on it. Yesterday the odometer read 191,237! We have never owned a car that ran as well, as long, and as comfortably as The Grey. I don't know if it was produced in some exceptional moment when the factory got everything right, but it stands as undeniable evidence that Toyota can make a GREAT car. We used it as a trade-in so Puddin could get a new ride. Because the Avalon was in great shape, the dealer seemed pleased to get it and gave me more than I thought for it, despite it's high mileage.
So now as I stare at the bare spot in the driveway that was its berth, I wonder. What does the next chapter hold? Will the new owner appreciate The Grey and give her the kind of care that allows her to reach the next milestone? But without knowing the specifics of the plot, I know with certainty how the story will end. Perhaps suddenly in a brutal collision, perhaps while abandoned to a ditch beside a country lane, perhaps in rusting repose as her frame perches on concrete blocks, the days of faithful service will end. There will be no celebrations, no fanfare, no congratulations for a race well run. She will simply slip softly into the night.
I am struck by a contrast. The Apostle Paul explains, Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve (Col. 3:23-24). Servants of the Lord will never be consigned to the scrap-yard. Their faithfulness may be forgotten among men, but not in the least by the Lord, who will personally give them the greatest reward any man could receive, a heavenly inheritance.
Our bodies, on the other hand, will follow The Grey. They are mere vehicles, transports for the human spirit. They can be damaged; they wear out. Mine is already showing the miles. And I know how the story will end. But Jesus has got things under control. One part of that heavenly inheritance is the provision of a new body, one suited to heavenly existence. On the day I die (or the day the Lord returns, whichever comes first), I will trade in an aging clunker for a new model that is not subject to rust, or aging, or decay. I am so ready to trade up.
Me too.
Posted by: Jeff Rademaker | February 23, 2010 at 01:11 PM
-sigh-
I will miss you, noble Grey!
Posted by: Austin | February 23, 2010 at 09:53 PM
Awww soo sad :( Bye Bye
Posted by: Wendi | March 14, 2010 at 12:55 AM