It’s not the years. It’s the mileage.

My car is eleven years old.  In car years thats like eighty.  And just like a person who is growing older, she has started to develop problems.  Little issues here and there.  Her problems aren’t major but she is beginning to show her age.

She has one bad headlight.  It isn’t completely out but it’s really dim.  Like a lazy eye or a cataract. She can’t quite see what’s on her right side.

She has started to leak from the roof.  When it rains, water drips down and collects in the passenger side floor board.  Sometimes it forms a puddle up to an inch deep.  I constantly have to clean up after her.  And because of the water, she has developed a slight funk that emanates from the back seat.

She has small dents and scratches on her body.  Little reminders of where we’ve been and what we’ve been through.  I’m not sure where they all came from but new ones seem to pop up over night.  I guess thats just a part of life for a car.

On cold mornings she has to have a little time to warm up.  She shakes and sputters for a minute and then she gets into her normal groove and begins to purr.  But she doesn’t sound like she used to.  Now there are hiccups and murmurs.  Her engine is beginning to feel the effects of all the miles it has on it.

She has a hairline crack at the top of her radiator.  Every few weeks I have to replace her fluids. When we are stopped at a traffic light, the needle on her temperature gauge rises to abnormal levels. She doesn’t like to sit still.

She still has life in her.  She gets me from A to B and beyond but she has to go fast to stay cool. She has to keep moving.  If she stops… she’s a goner.

* * * * *

There is a line in Raiders of the Lost Ark that I love.  Indiana Jones is bruised and beaten.  His latest adventure has taken it’s toll.  And when he’s told that he’s getting to old to be jet setting around the world, he responds with this:

“It’s not the years.  It’s the mileage.”

Like our cars, the mileage of life takes a toll on us and all of our adventures add up on our odometers.  We show signs of where we’ve been and what we’ve done.  We wear our dents and scratches with pride.

Life’s a short, bumpy ride but it’s an adventure.  And it’s these adventures and God given purpose that keeps us going.  Despite the wear and tear, we press on.  We keep seeking, following.

Life is fast so we go fast.

We keep moving.

Because if we stop… we’re goners.