Go Kart

We had planned it for some time and finally the day had come.  Four of us had passes to the races, and yesterday was the day. K 1 Go Karts, just off 290 .  I have seen car races televised and even sometimes had dancing dreams of racing, but I now have extinguished all thoughts. The racetrack, as you can imagine, is designed with twists and turns and that do challenge abilities and motor skills and even though there were only four of us on track, 12 are allowed at a given time. 

We were read the rules and given a quick overview of the meanings of the colored flags and then we were escorted to be uniformed in our head gear.  We first had to wear a very tightly made cotton head shield that went down to our neck, with a small opening for a frontal face that barely covered our chin. Then came the helmet, a very large, serious protective block of padded plastic, and we then were assigned our carts, and we were off.  They apparently have a governor switch that regulates the speed and upon starting our, we probably were only going 5 miles an hour just so we would be given an opportunity to get the hang of it, but they didn't tell us that and I was thinking is this all there is, and then around the first curve we were let loose.  

Not only was it a fun and wonderful adventure but just like anything else, you don't really get how something works until you experience it yourself.  You can read about it and watch it but only when it is an up close an personal experience can you truly identify with it.  They had a Formula 1 Race car there on display and the driver's area is so small, I mean tiny, and is one of the reasons that racing is now off of my bucket list but the other reason, is even in these wide wheeled, heavy duty go karts is it hard to get down so low and awkward to get in and out.  You sort of have to use a shoe horn effect and slide in from the back. You get two rounds of 14 laps with an intermission between each, and believe me we needed that intermission. 

There is an apparent life analogy in this whole adventure:  

1) a desire to step into this world

2) the sign up

3) the directions

4) the meaning of the flags

5) the protective gear

6) the course

7) the vessel

8) the race

9) the finish

You can pretty much figure out the the analogy between this experience and racing for God;  for you know where I am going with this. But for further explanation, to be a partner with God we have to: 

1) have a desire to want to know Christ and keep wanting to know him better than we did the day before. Everything we do begins with desire, even if it is things that are contrary to our comforts and are only a part of responsibility and obligation. 

2) We have to be willing to sign in and sign into a partnership. 

3) The directions are clearly stated in the bible and even after the many centuries that have passed through time, the directions remain relevant. 

4)  I love this one because God does flag us down for different reasons:  Green - track is ready and clear for driving, (God given us a green light to pursue what it is that we have requested)  Red flag - stop, pull over (God halts us in our endeavore becasue he has a clearer vision of our path) , Black Flag penalty, you have crossed a line (God's warning to get back on a safe track) , Blue flag with diagonal line - move over and let someone pass by you (we so many times want to be the first and fastest but sometimes it is time to get out of hurry up mode and let someone else take the lead)  white flag - last lap (God is the only one who truly knows when our last lap will be, so we just have to keep on moving and race the course that we have been given.)  checkered flag - finish ( the time will come when our race is over and God will bring us to his peaceful home and give us rest, our race on earth will be over, oh but the life in heavenly places will just begin.)

5) God does not only give us a helmet but a full armor of protection: belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, a shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one,  the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

6) God has given each of us individual courses to that drive our lives.  But what we have to remember is that each of our courses is created according to the purposes that God has established, so that our skills of faith and trust are actively pursued through the challenges, twists, curves that are an everyday part of our pursuit.  

7) God has assigned each of us to be his vessel of love, encouragement, forgiveness, and grace.  

8) The race is on everyday....and by a race I am not talking speed, I am talking endurance and assurance.  We will get to the finish line one day, and we will experience many obstacles and challenges along our race, oh but there is so much fun to be had on the journey, in spite of the trials.  We just have to be on the lookout for God's suggested intermissions, and his joyful blessings that are found in not just days but moments.  

9) We win, no matter who has come before us or who will comes after us, for at the finish line Jesus will be waiting, arms extended with joy,  to welcome us to his glorious heavens.

Too many times we live on that racetrack aspiring to just get to the finish line instead of finding joy in the journey.  I am one of them and I surely was one of them yesterday, I love going fast. But when I find myself speeding through life, I know I miss much of the beauty of what is around me, and certainly pass by many moments of joy. 

I think that getting older is one of God's perks sometimes, for you just can't go as fast as you used to and you have more time to look around, more time to be around, and do things that might just ne off the main stay of daily routine. That speed governing control panel that is God masters is not just generated according to age but also by difficulty, by health, hurdles, adversity or disability.  I am convinced that God sometimes slows us down purposefully just to get our attention and redirect our thoughts back to him. There is abundant joy that comes from loving God, appreciating God and focusing on God and if we speed through life, we tend to miss the opportunities that God has placed before us to do just that.  

Our course is charted, individually, to strengthen our character through loving God and desiring to have him as a life long, loving parter of truth and wisdom and grace. May we be the winning vessel who reflects God's story of sacrifice, forgiveness, strength and grace through our own lives.  Amen     

Praise God wherever you are and whatever situation He has allowed you to be in . . . His glory will shine through!