Lessons Learned

I was able to snap one quick picture of this month long project....but I could have gotten many many pictures if I would have been on my 'A' game!

BUT they would have all looked about the same!

With out going into more detail than you would want to know....I will post the idea behind this post.

We had  problems with the Lincoln...engine problems....like oil in the spark plugs problem..not good!

Short of sounding like a broken record... this was not a job Steve could do with ease.  Being on his foot and having it "down" was not easy, it basically would swell up like an elephant leg and throb like a toothache.  It was painful!    We SERIOUSLY considered having a garage do all the repairs but it was going to be a costly job!  One of the major jobs that needed to be done was to replace the cam cover gaskets...there were 2 and not easily gotten to (like with any car job!!) Steve jumped into the project with his willing and not-so-willing assistant Troy.   They spent many many hours together under that hood...some joyful, some not so joyful, some sweaty (as we were in the middle of July)...you get the idea!

Troy learned some life lessons under that hood.....how an engine works....which in and of itself is priceless!  Most men don't even begin to know how to do what his dad taught him on those long hot days in the garage!  He learned how to reach a dropped bolt, how to replace a gasket, how to remove spark plugs, what a coil pack is (and I know what it is too..well kind of!) and how to replace an air conditioning line!

He got his hands dirty, I mean really dirty! 

He worked shoulder to shoulder with his dad!  Our days are numbered with that boy...I mean, our days to teach him stuff like this.  He learned how to be a man & how to be an assistant (he would say it was.."get that Troy", "Troy hold this",  "Troy get that socket") but we know better.. someday, he will look back when he is under his hood knowing how to repair something....he will smile with a thankful heart!  

Steve did not necessarily set out to teach Troy these lessons.   Had he not had a messed up leg he probably would have proceeded with this repair with out Troy's help. BUT they both didn't have a choice! Not sure who was learning the life lesson's here..Troy or Steve...both have learned valuable lessons in the summer of 2012!

God puts "challenges" in our lives to teach us all lessons.  Most of the time it's multiple lessons learned by multiple people!  I would be lying if I stated Troy enjoyed it and was always willing and I would also be lying if I stated Steve was always a great teacher and never got frustrated but it still was a great summer of learning....despite our selfish human motives!