The Dragster & the Toyota

My wife, Lisa, and I are very compatible.  We have a lot in common.  She is my other half.    But, we are very different in how we “do” life.  We are usually on the same page, and going the same direction.  We are just not always going at the same speed. 

Since Carr is our last name, we try to get as much mileage as possible out of using automobile analogies.  A few years back, it dawned on me that one of us has the energy of a Toyota, while the other is like a top-fuel dragster.  It is usually after my wife and I have gotten to know someone for a bit that the analogy spills out.  It is not uncommon to hear me say, “To better understand Lisa and me, it might be helpful if I told you about the Dragster and the Toyota.” 
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Strap yourself in.  It might help you understand us better, as well.

​TOYOTAS

Over the years, our family has owned a number of Toyotas.  We use them every day – whether it’s going to work, or a trip around town. They tend to perform as they are designed.  They are not dramatic, but they are reliable.  They don’t go fast, but they go far because we use them for years and years and years.  The energy output is predictable.  Usage is routine. Every week or so, I fill up the tank.  Periodically, I wash and vacuum it.  A couple of times a year, I change the oil.  Every couple of years, I get a set of tires, and a set of brakes.  Do the scheduled maintenance which seems infrequent and mundane.  Tune it up when needed. Take care of problems as they arise.   The bottom-line is this, if I take care of the Toyota, it tends to be reliable and take care of us.

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TOP-FUEL DRAGSTERS

The year before Lisa and I got married, I lived a quarter of a mile from the Pomona California Dragstrip.  During a drag racing event the intensity of the wall of sound could not be ignored.  It invaded your senses – even indoors.  Every ten or fifteen minutes there would be a four second concentrated blast of full throated noise – followed by such an abrupt cut off - that the silence even seemed to have an echo.
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A top fuel dragster is the fastest accelerating machine on earth.  Its average trip is 1000 feet.  In less than four seconds, it can go from a dead stop to speeds in excess of 300 mph.  It inhales 12 gallons of nitromethane to accomplish this.  It needs another 5 gallons to get “warmed up” for this little trip.  The average cost for each run is $8,000.00.  It’s a lot more if there’s a problem.  A top-fuel dragster is a high performance machine.  It requires high maintenance.  It requires a team of specialists.  It is in the shop far more than it is on “the road”.  But, when it is running right it is a sight to behold.  Crowds are in awe.  Gains are made.  Records are broken.  Energy is spent.

​Running a top fuel dragster is an “all or nothing” proposition.  When idling, the engine is rough.  It spits, snorts, and coughs.  It crawls to the starting line, and is shaking all the way.  It does a “burnout” to soften and warm the tires.  It has a reverse to ease it back into position.  For all intents and purposes, it has all the basic functions of an average sedan.  Yet, when the light flashes green, its similarity with a sedan vanishes.  It’s trajectory for those four seconds of perfection is semi-controlled at best.  Its velocity is exhilarating.  The sound is deafening.  Energy is not just observed.  It is felt.

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​When a top-fuel dragster crosses the finish line, a chute pops open.  It immediately decelerates.  From that point on, it is coasting.  More space and time is allowed for it to slow down than to speed up.  If slowing down takes longer than planned, it runs out of road.  Bad things happen.  Just because one trip is successful, there is little guarantee that the next one will be.  Odds are not it its favor for positive successive trips.  In fact, top fuel dragsters are completely rebuilt after each run.   They work or they don’t.  Drag racing is an accident waiting to happen.  There is very little middle ground.  A dragster either runs full tilt, or not much at all.  A dragster is neither subtle, nor is it ordinary.  It is special, complex, and costly. When it works, everyone takes notice.  When it doesn’t, it is in the shop.

​THE CARRS

In understanding Lisa and me, I am a lot like our Toyotas. 

The upkeep is pretty basic.  You keep me fed and watered and I keep going. Nowadays, a shot of premium gas helps, but regular doesn’t gum me up too much.  You keep me clothed and cleaned and I do ok.  Give me shoes as needed. Get me to the doctor and dentist once a year, or so.   Attend to the periodic “aches and pains”.  Take care of the increasingly frequent “dings”.  Keep the insurance paid up in case a larger repair is needed.  But, for the most part, things work as designed.  Nothing is dramatic.  Life is uncomplicated and pretty ordinary.  My energy has a pattern and it is pretty predictable.  Slow and easy.  Nothing too high.  Nothing too low.

On the other hand, Lisa is a lot like a top-fuel dragster. 

Extreme debilitating fatigue has plagued her since she was a teenager.   On good days she feels like she has the flu.  Seeing doctors and doing labs or therapy is a weekly occurrence.  She has seen hundreds of doctors and specialists.   She is particularly sensitive to toxins in her diet.  All of her food is specialized.  Her body is complex.  Nothing is simple.  Nothing is routine.

Lisa’s energy is unpredictable.  The part of her body that produces energy doesn’t have much of a middle ground.  There is no sliding dimmer switch.  Like a dragster she is either on or off.  She doesn’t do “slow and easy” very well.  At idle and slow speeds her energy is ragged and in spurts.  She is sluggish and it is almost painful to watch. 

Lisa is very talented, though, and doesn’t want to be sick.  She has a passion for God, and she wants to serve Him with everything she has.  She has a faith to match her passion.  She will push herself to volunteer for worthy projects, and, and in doing so, a sudden surge of adrenalin may kick in.  It is the equivalent of an adrenalin rush.  When this happens, she goes full tilt.   It is a different Lisa.  This one is extraordinary.  Her skill set shines.  The dragster runs well.  People notice.  And, she will take that rush of energy as far as she can.  In fact, she won’t quit - because she is not sure when she will get going again.  Inevitably, at some point, though, she coasts to a stop.  She is towed or helped back to the garage to access, regroup, and bring in the specialists.  And, we trust God to renew her energy - in his time - for his purposes.   

AS I REFLECT:

I dearly love my wife.  I know that she is “the one” God intended for me.  I balance her.  She moves me.  At our wedding, I had some vague understanding of what “in sickness and in health” might mean for us.  I knew that Lisa struggled with health.  I was aware that she “had been in the shop” for an extended time before we were married.  I was aware of the specialists she was seeing.  I was aware of special foods and medications that she needed.  But, I wasn’t aware of how God would use her condition, her “thorn in the flesh” so to speak, as a “governor” in our walk with him. 
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Lisa’s natural tendency and preference would be to go “all out, all the time” for Jesus.  But, God has allowed her to have this governor.  Her illness infiltrates every aspect of our life, and tempers what she can do.  We don’t know why, but it is a major factor in where we can go and what we are able to do in life and ministry.  For the most part, we are learning that whether we are “on the road, the track, in the garage”, or any other state – to be content. 

We know that God is in control, and he can be trusted.

Next Time:
​Mom & the Saudi Arabian Fighter Pilots

Photo Credits:
Top: Carr Collection:  White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
Bottom: Image by ​Clickphoto Switzerland from Pixabay