Persistence pays off

At what point do you give up?  I guess that would depend on how bad you wanted something or how important it was to you.  After my car was junked and we had to find a cheap replacement quickly, we acquired a vehicle that  was mechanically sound enough to get me to work and back.  My husband had taken it for a test drive and came home with my “new” car.  As my son and I took it out for a spin I climbed in only to plant my feet on a sopping wet mat.  My husband deduced that the previous owner must have left a window open.  We aired out the rugs and started fresh.

Enter the first day of rain.  Floor mats are once again soaked.  At the first opportunity we spent several hours with buckets of water and then a hose trying to see where the water was coming in from.  It was impossible to find the source so we covered the car with a tarp the next few times it rained.  Once again, my husband spent several hours with a friend trying to find the source.  No luck.  Each time we came up with a different idea…was it the windshield, the door, underneath the car, was rubber rotted on a seal, the hole where the antenna came out of, etc?

Finally another friend helped my husband and they discovered that one of the tubes for a drain from my sunroof had become disconnected and the water was running down inside the frame.  It was a simple fix but had taken hours to figure out.  What if we hadn’t been persistent?  It would have been easy to give up.  It would have been very aggravating every time it rained if the source had never been found.

Now that we found the source of the interior leak, there is still one more to find.  I kept hearing a “sloshing” sound.  After investigation I realized that after a heavy rain my rear passenger door fills up with water!  Fortunately it does not leak INTO my car and I have to remember to drain it after a rainfall.  I guess with some more persistence we will be able to solve it.

It reminds me of a very persistent widow in Luke 18.  Jesus told a story about her to encourage his disciples to pray consistently and to not give up or lose hope.   How easily we can give up after praying ONCE about something.  1 Thessalonians 5:17 can be translated as “pray without ceasing,” “never stop praying,”  and “pray constantly.”  And what is prayer?  Simply talking to God, pouring out your heart to Him.  It’s not difficult to keep up a conversation.  He’s always listening and ready to hear what is on your heart.  I love the way The Message translates  1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.”  It’s an attitude of gratitude that flows from your heart despite your circumstances.  If you are a thankful person it’s much easier to continually be communing with God or talking to Him.  It’s natural to want to spend time with Him and persistently be in His presence.

I am rejoicing.  My mechanically sound car got me to Pittsburgh over Memorial Day weekend to visit with my daughter, son-in-law and other relatives.  It rained on the way out and the way back and we were safe and dry!

Together with some of my family in Pittsburgh