The Cooter Bug Lives!
It was a little bit chilly for yard work today, so I decided to spend part of my Easter Sunday doing something I'd been wanting to do but putting off for too long. I swapped over some parts from a tractor that KP gave me to mine.
I'm thankful to have it. It has one essential part that's called a varidrive pulley and they don't make them anymore (because anymore was 30 years ago when the thing was built in the first place). While I didn't have to replace that yet, I did need to replace the hood. I wrecked the tractor several years ago by forgetting to take it out of neutral when I started it. I'm not so smart sometimes.
Anyway, it took a couple of hours to swap the parts over and fill the tires with air. With the donor parts, my tractor looks a lot more like the "cooter bug" than it did. It now has lights that work, a hood that functions, a cap on the steering wheel, and a front grille. It fired right up after I charged the battery and I'm happy about that, too. I even swapped the seat out for one that still resembles a seat. I really need to buy a new one but this one will do for now.
I have a lot of spare parts for my tractor now. I still need to replace one of the steering rods, but that's not a have to at this point, just a want to. Other than that, it's running pretty well for as old as it is.
I've learned a lot about throwing things away over my lifetime. Especially about throwing away people, and I think the old tractor is a little object lesson in life. I bought it for a price. I worked on it and resurrected it from the dead. I had to take some old parts off and replace them with new parts. It looks a little rough, but it's better than it was when I found it. Sometimes things are worth fixing.
I have a cross on the wall in my office room. It's fashioned out of wrenches and it reminds me that Jesus is a great mechanic. He's helped me fix more stuff in the last ten years than I can count. Like the tractor, He bought me with a price (a tremendous price!), took the broken parts out, replaced them with new ones. I look a bit weathered these days, but I'm much better than I've ever been in lots of ways. Through Christ, with God's help and the Spirit's prompting, I've been able to mend some relationships to as good as they'e going to get. I've been blessed to have new parts in my life, like new friends, a church family, and the job I have now. Those things are gifts from God and I'm grateful to Him for each of them.
Spring is here and I'll need the tractor to get things done. I have a lot of bushes to trim if I'm staying here and for the moment it looks that way. The dump cart is ready to help me get my chores done and the tractor is ready to pull it. I'll need these things as the weather gets warmer and I'm happy I have them to aid me in my work. It's nice to have the tractor back to about what it was before I crashed it.
The tractor KP gave me doesn't run. But even in it's brokenness, it still had some things to give. I'm grateful for that, too. Because even though I'm broken and a hot mess on a good day, God still finds ways for me to give, to serve, and to love others. It's probably the most amazing thing to me that God uses little old me for His glory and His purposes.
That's the message of the empty tomb, though! Jesus overcame death and the grave, and He's been saving sinners ever since. What was once dead in me is alive, and broken as I am, God lets me tell others about what His Son has done for me, to me, and through me! Even broken, God finds something for me to do for His Kingdom. How cool is that?
That's the story of the old "cooter bug". The tractor has an odd look to it, which just says to me "cooter bug". I don't know why, but the name just stuck, by the way.
Happy Easter friends! He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Hallelujah!!!!!!!!
I'm thankful to have it. It has one essential part that's called a varidrive pulley and they don't make them anymore (because anymore was 30 years ago when the thing was built in the first place). While I didn't have to replace that yet, I did need to replace the hood. I wrecked the tractor several years ago by forgetting to take it out of neutral when I started it. I'm not so smart sometimes.
Anyway, it took a couple of hours to swap the parts over and fill the tires with air. With the donor parts, my tractor looks a lot more like the "cooter bug" than it did. It now has lights that work, a hood that functions, a cap on the steering wheel, and a front grille. It fired right up after I charged the battery and I'm happy about that, too. I even swapped the seat out for one that still resembles a seat. I really need to buy a new one but this one will do for now.
I have a lot of spare parts for my tractor now. I still need to replace one of the steering rods, but that's not a have to at this point, just a want to. Other than that, it's running pretty well for as old as it is.
I've learned a lot about throwing things away over my lifetime. Especially about throwing away people, and I think the old tractor is a little object lesson in life. I bought it for a price. I worked on it and resurrected it from the dead. I had to take some old parts off and replace them with new parts. It looks a little rough, but it's better than it was when I found it. Sometimes things are worth fixing.
I have a cross on the wall in my office room. It's fashioned out of wrenches and it reminds me that Jesus is a great mechanic. He's helped me fix more stuff in the last ten years than I can count. Like the tractor, He bought me with a price (a tremendous price!), took the broken parts out, replaced them with new ones. I look a bit weathered these days, but I'm much better than I've ever been in lots of ways. Through Christ, with God's help and the Spirit's prompting, I've been able to mend some relationships to as good as they'e going to get. I've been blessed to have new parts in my life, like new friends, a church family, and the job I have now. Those things are gifts from God and I'm grateful to Him for each of them.
Spring is here and I'll need the tractor to get things done. I have a lot of bushes to trim if I'm staying here and for the moment it looks that way. The dump cart is ready to help me get my chores done and the tractor is ready to pull it. I'll need these things as the weather gets warmer and I'm happy I have them to aid me in my work. It's nice to have the tractor back to about what it was before I crashed it.
The tractor KP gave me doesn't run. But even in it's brokenness, it still had some things to give. I'm grateful for that, too. Because even though I'm broken and a hot mess on a good day, God still finds ways for me to give, to serve, and to love others. It's probably the most amazing thing to me that God uses little old me for His glory and His purposes.
That's the message of the empty tomb, though! Jesus overcame death and the grave, and He's been saving sinners ever since. What was once dead in me is alive, and broken as I am, God lets me tell others about what His Son has done for me, to me, and through me! Even broken, God finds something for me to do for His Kingdom. How cool is that?
That's the story of the old "cooter bug". The tractor has an odd look to it, which just says to me "cooter bug". I don't know why, but the name just stuck, by the way.
Happy Easter friends! He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! Hallelujah!!!!!!!!
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