Creature Comforts?

I have an old car. It will be 12 in December and I got it new, back in the day. Not a fancy model, just basic window hand cranks, stick shift and factory basics. It gets me from point A to B in an economical fashion, though tall people have complained of cramped quarters.

This is the first year that the a/c gave out, and it's not just about how hot it is outside, it's about the broiling heat of a car interior, in the summer. Grumpy doesn't cover it. I'm not sure even cranky could. Yet the adaptability of humans brought nostalgia of my younger years. I never had air conditioning until well after college.

The earliest vehicle of my experience, I recall didn't even have seat belts, at least to my memory. And now, rolling down my windows for 30mph breezes seemed to invite others to wave or ask a question through my open window at a stop light.

Christ helped me to notice again what flourishes despite adverse conditions. The evenings in my neighborhood are a social event whether for the family or the block. Houses are stifling so you open everything up, including the front door and you move out to the porch. Kids begin playing in the yard or the street, while mom and dad watch out for them and chat together. Parks fill up while dusk lingers and some soccer or picnic dinners take over the grass.

When adverse temperatures meets community disparity, God is often and easily called upon for only He controls the clouds, the evening breeze, a light rain shower. In discomfort, we reach beyond our ruts and our comfort zones to seek relief. Even if it is only to share our concerns and hopes for a change in the weather.

It reminds me all over again that the poor have something to teach. That community doesn't spring from committee, but from connection. God calls us into community, which starts with relationship, light or deep, for He seeks to connect to and with us all. Yet, it is discomfort and faith that are often the only way that we stretch, grow, connect, and learn of a greater treasure than our comfort.