1953 Chevy Bel Air
This was the number-one automobile in 1953, the year that commentator Greg Weeks and Insight Editor Cynthia B. Astle were born. (Courtesy Photo)
You are the one who created my innermost parts; you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb. — Psalm 139:13
Here’s a fun exercise to put mortality into perspective. Google, “What was the most popular car in the year I was born?” It turns out for me, in 1953, it was the Chevrolet (not a Chrysler!) Bel Air.
How many of those do you see on the road today? None, except for a few of the classic variety, which have been totally remade. That’s because after a few years owners traded them in. They wanted to avoid depreciation and the inevitable breakdowns and unreliability.
And yet for many of us, here we are–decades later–with bodies that were built the same year as our “birth-mobiles.” Our hearts are still ticking and our lungs are still breathing. Cuts and operations still heal themselves. Neurons still fire, ear drums still drum, rods and cones in eyes still decipher shape and color, and digestive organs still deliver food and eliminate waste. Obviously as we age some things don’t work as well as they once did but, really, isn’t it a miracle that we’re here and that so many things work at all?
When us AARP folks get together, a favorite conversation topic is reciting our latest ills, procedures, and bodily challenges. Wouldn’t it be an interesting and refreshing change if we occasionally talked about how we’re still here while so many Bel Airs have been scrapped, with their remains rusting after only a few years?
Looking at the picture of that vintage car, I think of a time long ago. But looking in the mirror, regardless of the wrinkles and etc., l think of how amazing it is that I still have the ability to see a sun rise, laugh with family and friends, enjoy a nice meal, and marvel at the world around me.
God puts us together in ways beyond our comprehension. We don’t need a warranty. We only need a spirit of profound gratitude for the overwhelming love the One who meticulously knit us in our mother’s womb.
Greg Weeks
Rev. Greg Weeks
The Rev. Greg Weeks is a retired clergy member of the Missouri Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church. This post is republished with permission from his blog, Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind.