Motorcycles, User Names, "Yet," and God

Last week I was stumbling through a day of boredom when Kyle asked me to help him work on his motorcycle. If you haven’t figured this out yet, I know nothing about motorcycles. I can change the oil, check and correct tire pressure, and check and refill liquids in a car. But I agreed to help. My big task?

Sit on the motorcycle so it doesn’t fall over onto Kyle! If you have never held a motorcycle up while sitting on it let me make one thing very clear; when it might fall and crush your brother the whole ordeal is not what you might expect.

At first I was marveling at how much of a weight difference there was between my imagination and the actual weight of the bike. It was lighter than I anticipated. I couldn’t relax though, because once I did the bike’s weight would take over and fall on both of us.

Then there was the “user name” fiasco. I have begun the process of changing my life, and part of that is to get rid of my old email. How do you delete an email account? Good question. When you find out, let me know. (I used yahoo.)

When I tried to log in, for the past few weeks, I start by using my old user name for Facebook, email, and various other accounts I have. WRONG! I changed the user name, to reflect my new lifestyle, thus rendering all of my initial efforts useless.

And now we arrive at “yet.” Do you know anyone who is Amish? anyone who was Amish? If not, let me enlighten you. They string their English sentences together very awkwardly at times, and without fail most of their sentences end with “yet.” It is a very hard habit to stop, and it is very easy to learn. I catch myself ending sentences with “yet” along with many of my friends. Ever have an annoying song stuck in your head? the one you can’t remember very many words? This “yet” habit is very similar; annoying once you realize what’s happening.

All of that leads to this: life is full of changes, and they all revolve around God. When I began this revamping of life based around God, I had to change my email, a few passwords, account names, you get the idea. The problem is that I keep reverting back to things I used to know, things that are comfortable because of previous repetition. I find that these little reminders encourage me though.

I have a new life! I have a new name! I am not the same man I once was. And God is now the center of my life, not me. These changes are for the good. The old me, the one I left and never desire to take up again, is gone, but I will have reminders of my past life. Those reminders keep me honest about myself and others. I can look at these reminders and say “I was also ……. I also fought against …… I didn’t understand the freedom from …… that God could grant me. But now I’m different. Now I am changed, and one day I hope that….is able to change by the power of God.”

Don’t get rid of your reminders. They tell us how far God has brought us.