An old, broken and dirty Car!!!

Early this morning Isaac woke up because his ear was hurting. Unfortunately that only means one thing when you are 3 years old, ear infection. So, when the doctor's office opened I made the call and got I-Man an appointment. So as we were heading out the door he asks if he can bring a toy and I said sure so he grabbed one of his favorite cars. See picture below (this is the car he grabbed.)It is one of his very favorite. He has had this car for a little over a year and when he got it, it didn't look like it does now. As you can see it is now a convertible. (That means that when it first arrived it did have a roof over the cab.) It is missing a couple of tires and the muffler has fallen off. There are a few other things that have broken off but I think you get the idea so far. Needless to say this little car has been played with by a very rambunctious 3 year old and PARTS of it have lasted while some parts have not. It has also been filled with baby powder a couple of times so that is what gives the inside a whitish look.

The following picture is one I took of Isaac as he is explaining his favorite parts of this car. He likes the fact that the doors open (aka. wings which give it the ability to fly) and the hood also comes up (which allows this car to talk.) This is where this car gets interesting.

So this morning after we were headed home from the doctor's visit Isaac told me that his car wanted to say a prayer and asked if I could turn down the radio so that he could hear his car clearly. I agreed and also wanted to hear who his car was praying for and what it had to say. So his car started by praying for Daddy, Mommy, Jordan, Sydney and Isaac. He prayed for Isaac's ear and that it would heal soon followed with a loud "AMEN." O' to hear Isaac's sweet little voice pretending to be a car who was praying. It was priceless!
And then I start to think. This is a toy that I always laugh at when Isaac grabs. It is missing a lot of it's parts and doesn't work the way I would think it should. But then I realize that Isaac loves this toy because it is just how he wants it. "Perfect in His eyes!" It is just how he made it to be. When I asked why he took the roof off his reply was that he couldn't see the seats with the roof on it. When I asked why he tore off the muffler he replied that it didn't roll very good with that "thing" underneath it and the reason for taking off two of the tires (keep in mind the rims are still attached) was to make sure Sydney didn't eat them. (At this point I wonder if he thinks she won't eat the other two but I decide not to go there.)
So when I look at this car I see an old toy that is broken, has missing parts and is all dirty. But, when I hear my son speaking as a little, broken, dirty car and praying for our family, I see a perfect little car that was created just as God had intended. This afternoon I saw Isaac playing with this car and to him it was perfect. It has doors that allow it to fly through the sky and a hood that allows it to pray. What more can a mother want in a toy for her son.

I also know that I thought this car is imperfect in so many ways. In so many ways that I have almost thrown it away many times. While driving home I was so glad that I never threw it away. I now realize that to Isaac this car is perfect. He loves this car with no roof, missing tires and residual powder dust. To him it is perfect. In the same way that I am loved by the Lord. I am perfect in the eye's of our Lord. In the same way that YOU are loved by the Lord. You are perfect in the eye's of the Lord. The love that we are given through Christ is immeasurable. The love that was given and began with the birth of that baby in a manger. This is what Christmas is all about. I hope all of you had a great Christmas holiday. May you always know the love of the Lord in 2010. Wow, thank you Isaac for keeping me on track and thank you for a great morning.
Love Ya'll and God Bless, Tara G.