"On the Care and Feeding of Things"

In an effort to avoid working in potential rain yesterday, I ended up coming home with a new set of tires in addition to an alignment and having the wheel bearings packed on my pickup truck. At the time I was thinking it probably would have behooved me to grit my teeth, put my raingear on, and head out instead of trying to find a way out of my gardening work.  Granted, the work on the truck was necessary, and my tires were in pretty bad shape, but I was hoping to stretch the purchase into fall.  No such luck!

Getting the tires rotated has been on my to-do list for a while now, but the tire shop is generally so busy I don't have the time to wait.  As I drove by I noticed an empty bay and, given my frame of mind yesterday, it was a perfect time to pop in, get the tires rotated, and head off to deal with my lengthy gardening list.  Instead, it was 3 hours and $1012.55 later before I even got started on my workday. 

My pickup truck has never been named, although I was seriously considering it after yet another expenditure.  If I could get away with it I would give it a name and a Social Security number and claim it as an exemption on my taxes.  After all, it costs far more to feed than I spend on myself.  My gas bill is exorbitant.  Anything I may want or need always takes a second chair to it.  It is my workhorse, a necessity in my gardening world, and it is given nothing but the best--on demand.  I certainly don't apply that to myself.  Even when I had small children they were told of the need to wait.  Not so my truck.  Postponement of work or maintenance could mean an even worse problem or greater expense down the road. 

As I was weed-eating Bruce's orchard I found myself thinking about those inanimate objects  in our lives called "things."  I have wrestled with the "thing" thing.  I know that each of us came into this world with nothing, and we leave with nothing.  One only has to deal with the estate of a parent or other family member who has passed to be made aware of that.  I am also aware that "Life doesn't consist of the abundance of things, but of every word that comes from the mouth of God."  Now, there's something to bite into and chew on for a while.

This is the conclusion I have come to:  There are acquisitions and then there are gifts.  God loves to give.  He is not a God of denial.  What He gives is personal, suits us individually, and satisfies a place within.  An acquisition, on the other hand, is that which I have acquired, and we all know how easily those can be wrested from us.  "Easy come, easy go" is a phrase each of us can relate to.   

My  Ford Ranger pickup is a gift and has served me well.  I actually found myself admiring my new tires.  They certainly are providing a smoother ride and peace of mind.  Initially I considered them to just be a "thing."  After some time in Bruce's garden I find I am viewing them through a different set of lenses, and they are indeed a gift.  It's all in the perspective, and that is another gift as well.