Gull Wing Doors
Every July there is a car show in our little town. Ignore the calendar, when you see a '68 Jag E Type outside a theater with it's original neon lit marquee, you get transported back in time. I love to walk through the streets of downtown, looking under the hoods of all these incredible cars.There is one car which makes an appearance every year which doesn't fit the mold. It isn't from a bygone era. Driving down the road your head would not turn involuntarily just to get another look. It's one of my favorites.This oversized SUV is decked out with all the cool features. Lights, body kits, and more. But then you get around the side and notice the back passenger door is a "gull wing" door. Now, that would not be a surprise on the DeLorean across the street (which the owner installed a flux capacitor into!). Gull wing doors are the thing on Lamborghinis or Ferraris, but not what you expect on even the most "tricked out" SUV.Look closer, and you will see the articulated arm and platform. You will see the inside is wide open. A step around the front and it all comes together. A beaming young man, smiling at everyone who walks by, engaging anyone with questions freely and with pride in his sweet ride. He does all of that from the confines of his powered wheelchair.His dad designed and customized all the elements of this vehicle. Talk to him and you will find the one person with a bigger smile than the young man. Not content with the offerings one could get with the typical van, he custom built a vehicle his son could not only get around in, but take pride in. Then he goes a step farther and enters it in car shows, so the world can see what is possible, and his son can enjoy the spotlight as strangers who otherwise might be timid to engage in conversation, can not help but ask questions.What the world might consider a weakness, has become a source of joy, purpose, and empowerment for this young man. Reminded me of a verse I have hanging in my dining room:
But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
2 Corinthians 12:9
Like Adam and Eve after the fall, we are prone to find any way possible to cover our shame, our insecurity, and our weaknesses. Instead, God would have those be the very things he uses to do the greatest work in our lives and the lives around us.Father today, give me courage to drop my guard and allow my weakness to be the stage for your power.By His Grace, For His Glory,Shaun