thunk
So I got rear-ended yesterday morning. I was idling at a stoplight on De Anza Blvd in Cupertino waiting to turn onto Highway 85, when I noticed a tan Oldsmobile minivan zooming up in my rear-view mirror and not braking fast enough. Next thing I knew, I heard a thunk and was jolted forward slightly.
Fortunately, the car appeared to get away with just a few minor scratches on the rear bumper - no apparent structural problems. It was just a little bump, after all. My neighbor owns a body repair shop and is going to look it over tomorrow morning to get an estimate. I got the contact and insurance info from the lady who hit me, and took a couple pics with my digital camera just in case. It really shouldn't be much of an issue. As for her, I just hope that she's not overly distressed - assuming that I take her at her word, she was on her way to have surgery, which was why she was distracted while driving.
This'll mark the third issue I've had with the Infiniti since beginning to drive it last September. If I haven't told this story yet, my dad bought the G35 for himself, but then traded with my mom when he realized that the Infiniti was causing him to drive too aggressively. I then traded with my mom since she only drives about 3 miles a day. It's a sweet car... the only things I don't like about it compared to my previous car are 1) the relative lack of trunk space and 2) not-as-good gas mileage. Otherwise, the handling is great, the power is great, and it's fun to drive. I still haven't gotten comfortable with calling it "my" car though.
While making the rest of the drive to work in silence (my CD player has been malfunctioning the past few days, so I've been engaging in quietness), I mused a bit on the idea of stewardship and how I handle the blessings I've been given. In general, I'm a pretty simple guy:
My favorite jacket is an old, hooded gray sweat-jacket I've been wearing indoors since high school. It's kind of like my "Mr. Rogers vest"... I put it on when I get home. Much of my wardrobe has been around since college. Most of my "nice" clothing comes as hand-me-downs from my younger brother... he has a much stronger sense of fashion than I do, and is more willing to buy new things, so I get his older-but-still-stylish stuff. I wear T-shirts and jeans just about every day to work.
I don't have much desire for the biggest and best electronics like computers, stereos, video games, or cameras, and I drove a relatively nice but stylistically unremarkable Volvo wagon for most of my college and post-college years (earned me the nickname "Dad", it did). I've never lacked for anything - in fact, God's blessed my socks off - but my upbringing was very much focused on the practical and enduring rather than being influenced by the vagaries of style.
Keeping in mind that there's nothing wrong with possessing nice things (electronics, clothes, car, house, etc.), as a Christian, it does mean that there is a greater responsibility to maximally use the more that I have in a more effective way, ultimately for the purpose of magnifying the God of my life. While it's been a blessing to be relatively free from the world's trap of "Buying things you don't want to impress people you don't like", I think that I still have much to learn in the way of being a good steward of the things that I do have.
I need to learn how to take care of my stuff, maintain it, and put it to good use. I need to learn to exert the same level of care with the cheaper things as well as the more expensive things. For example, I don't need to freak out about scratches or dings on the car, but I do need to be responsible about getting regular maintenance and using it to give rides to people. I need to open up my home to others. I need to have more hands-on knowledge and experience with investments. I need to develop good habits of giving monetarily to different causes.
Even more than that, I have my time and skills to offer in order to make the maximal impact on the world. Right now, career-wise, I think this might take me into some intersection of technology and health, but whatever path I end up on, I hope that I might be a good steward of my knowledge and abilities as well as my possessions.
I believe Jesus set the example of stewardship during his time on Earth - his entire life was centered around the purpose of bringing glory to His Father through obedience, teaching, investing in people's lives, and finally dying on the cross and being resurrected to life. He made the best use of the time and circumstances He was given in order to accomplish all that He was given to do ("It is finished"). I can only hope that I'll be able to do and say the same.
You are God, You're the Way, You're the Truth and You're the Life
King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ
And by Your shed blood... the Great Redeemer
You saved my soul, You paid the price
You saved my soul, now have my life
So I got rear-ended yesterday morning. I was idling at a stoplight on De Anza Blvd in Cupertino waiting to turn onto Highway 85, when I noticed a tan Oldsmobile minivan zooming up in my rear-view mirror and not braking fast enough. Next thing I knew, I heard a thunk and was jolted forward slightly.
Fortunately, the car appeared to get away with just a few minor scratches on the rear bumper - no apparent structural problems. It was just a little bump, after all. My neighbor owns a body repair shop and is going to look it over tomorrow morning to get an estimate. I got the contact and insurance info from the lady who hit me, and took a couple pics with my digital camera just in case. It really shouldn't be much of an issue. As for her, I just hope that she's not overly distressed - assuming that I take her at her word, she was on her way to have surgery, which was why she was distracted while driving.
This'll mark the third issue I've had with the Infiniti since beginning to drive it last September. If I haven't told this story yet, my dad bought the G35 for himself, but then traded with my mom when he realized that the Infiniti was causing him to drive too aggressively. I then traded with my mom since she only drives about 3 miles a day. It's a sweet car... the only things I don't like about it compared to my previous car are 1) the relative lack of trunk space and 2) not-as-good gas mileage. Otherwise, the handling is great, the power is great, and it's fun to drive. I still haven't gotten comfortable with calling it "my" car though.
While making the rest of the drive to work in silence (my CD player has been malfunctioning the past few days, so I've been engaging in quietness), I mused a bit on the idea of stewardship and how I handle the blessings I've been given. In general, I'm a pretty simple guy:
My favorite jacket is an old, hooded gray sweat-jacket I've been wearing indoors since high school. It's kind of like my "Mr. Rogers vest"... I put it on when I get home. Much of my wardrobe has been around since college. Most of my "nice" clothing comes as hand-me-downs from my younger brother... he has a much stronger sense of fashion than I do, and is more willing to buy new things, so I get his older-but-still-stylish stuff. I wear T-shirts and jeans just about every day to work.
I don't have much desire for the biggest and best electronics like computers, stereos, video games, or cameras, and I drove a relatively nice but stylistically unremarkable Volvo wagon for most of my college and post-college years (earned me the nickname "Dad", it did). I've never lacked for anything - in fact, God's blessed my socks off - but my upbringing was very much focused on the practical and enduring rather than being influenced by the vagaries of style.
Keeping in mind that there's nothing wrong with possessing nice things (electronics, clothes, car, house, etc.), as a Christian, it does mean that there is a greater responsibility to maximally use the more that I have in a more effective way, ultimately for the purpose of magnifying the God of my life. While it's been a blessing to be relatively free from the world's trap of "Buying things you don't want to impress people you don't like", I think that I still have much to learn in the way of being a good steward of the things that I do have.
I need to learn how to take care of my stuff, maintain it, and put it to good use. I need to learn to exert the same level of care with the cheaper things as well as the more expensive things. For example, I don't need to freak out about scratches or dings on the car, but I do need to be responsible about getting regular maintenance and using it to give rides to people. I need to open up my home to others. I need to have more hands-on knowledge and experience with investments. I need to develop good habits of giving monetarily to different causes.
Even more than that, I have my time and skills to offer in order to make the maximal impact on the world. Right now, career-wise, I think this might take me into some intersection of technology and health, but whatever path I end up on, I hope that I might be a good steward of my knowledge and abilities as well as my possessions.
I believe Jesus set the example of stewardship during his time on Earth - his entire life was centered around the purpose of bringing glory to His Father through obedience, teaching, investing in people's lives, and finally dying on the cross and being resurrected to life. He made the best use of the time and circumstances He was given in order to accomplish all that He was given to do ("It is finished"). I can only hope that I'll be able to do and say the same.
You are God, You're the Way, You're the Truth and You're the Life
King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Lord Jesus Christ
And by Your shed blood... the Great Redeemer
You saved my soul, You paid the price
You saved my soul, now have my life
posted by Bob at
4:20 PM
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