This week, I sold my old 2003 Kia Sorento. My parents gave it to us when they bought a new car four or five years ago. And it became my faithful everyday commuter car. And while I had to invest some money into it, the car kept on going and going and going. About a year and half ago, it started acting up. So I decided to upgrade my car. At the time, my youngest son needed a car just to drive around locally. So he took the car as his. He kept using the Kia after he landed his current job. But one night, it broke down and he decided to upgrade to a newer car as well. Since then, it sat in front of our house, used infrequently as a spare car. So we decided it was time to sell it. When we sold the Kia, it had over 236,000 miles on it!

I’m a fairly nostalgic guy. Oftentimes, my nostalgia centers around certain objects upon which memories are attached. Our cars are some of those objects. My little red Corolla was the first car Debbie and I owned as a married couple. We used it for trips early in our marriage, we transported the teenagers in our youth group, and it became our family car until our three kids could no longer fit in the backseat. (Poor Michael had to cram between two car seats back there.) 

Our white Chrysler van that we bought from our best friends was the first car that fit our family of six. We purchased it soon after our youngest was born. It felt so luxurious to have a large car that sat us all so comfortably. 

After that car started showing its age, my parents gave us their Kia Sedona so we would have a newer van for our family. It was such a faithful, dependable car that we used to take our family everywhere. That car held so many family memories. Its faithfulness allowed my family to go and experience so many wonderful things together. The same is true for our current family van (pictured above). These cars have become the anchor point for many wonderful and cherished memories for me. When I think of these cars and the unique memories associated with them, I can’t help but smile with joy and gratitude.

As I think about my life, I hope the same and even more can be said about me. I want my life to be the anchor point of many cherished memories for others. I hope my faithfulness to God, my family, and my friends will allow them to remember moments that bring them joy, gratitude, and even inspiration in their lives. I pray that one day God will welcome me with the words I long to hear, “Welcome home my good and faithful servant.” And because of my attempts at faithfulness over the many miles of my life, we will have unique and cherished memories together that bring smiles to our faces.