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March 19th.
2008
IMPOSSIBLE BECOMES POSSIBLE
I remember like it was just
yesterday. It was in the springtime of my freshman year of high school.
We had all heard about it for weeks…maybe even months. “It is a great
deal.” “It isn't much now, but just wait, it's going to be great - you
just wait!”
And so a couple of months before my friend’s fifteenth birthday on a
Saturday afternoon on the back of a large flat-bed truck the
dream-yet-to-be-realized arrived. To the naked eye, to the uninformed,
to those who had not heard the endless stories of its potential
grandeur, it was “a piece of junk.”
Okay, honestly, even to those who were friends trying to be supportive
as only adolescent boys can be, it was an “old rusty truck.” Yet amidst
our endless ribbing and teasing, the reality was we had all succumb to
his vision.
His unwavering plan was to fix the things he could himself, get family
and friends who knew a thing about restoring an old truck to pitch in,
and only when absolutely necessary pay someone to work on this
one-day-thing-of-beauty all in time for his 16th birthday.
Week after week which became month after month he spent every
discretionary moment, to say nothing of money, on his dream. During this
time there were moments of significant crises. Finding certain parts
became needle-in-the-haystack experiences. Many who had said they would
lend their “expertise” did not follow through. And everything cost more
than expected.
During these times of disappointments and set backs many a friend and
family member suggested that he “hang it up” and just buy a different
reliable car. Even in the most desperate moments there wasn't any
inkling that was going to stop him from realizing his goal.
As the snow melted, days became longer and warmer and the following
spring we were all casually invited over to his house. As the last
person arrived he said he had something in the garage he wanted to show
us. Most of us I am sure thought we were once again being shown his
latest, and most likely miniscule, progress on “the truck.”
As he opened the doors of the garage on this sunny, mid-afternoon Sunday
it was as if the heavens had opened and the angels were singing. It was
absolutely stunning. What was once a “piece of junk” or an “old rusty
truck” was now an immaculate automobile. It was Easter!
A vision, a dream, the impossible becoming possible, amidst great
hardship and ridicule that which was seen as dead had become the
embodiment of new life. It is the Easter faith and the Easter life!
Blessings,
The Rev. Brian N. Prior, Rector
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