Free Spark Plugs

Hope spark plug works
PTSD Patrol
Kathie Costos
April 29, 2018


If all you hear is negative, how can you find anything positive to fire your imagination? If your car battery only had negative terminals, it would not work, no matter how many times you tried to charge it.

You need something to put energy into your life again. You need some spark plugs to get you going.

This is from Firestone Complete Auto Care but think of it as complete YOU care.

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SPARK PLUGS
What do spark plugs do?

Spark plugs are vital to your car’s efficiency!

"Think of spark plugs as the tiniest bolt of lighting. Small but mighty, the spark of electricity that the plug emits across a small gap creates the ignition for the combustion needed to start your car. By putting the engine’s pistons in motion, your car can power up, stay powered up and produce a smooth burn of the compressed air-fuel mixture. Mind you, spark plugs like it hot: they withstand extreme heat and pressure within your cylinders and are built to burn off deposits from fuel additives or other contaminants."

What does it mean for you?

"Well, without a spark, your car won’t start – or go anywhere. And because spark plug health is directly linked to engine performance, it stands to reason weak or bad spark plugs lead to problems, be it issues with cold-starting or misfires during acceleration. Besides – without healthy ones – your ride can’t sustain maximum power, and your vehicle can see a drop in fuel economy. Now, nobody wants that."

Yes, you are very smart! You know exactly where I am going on this one. The spark is about getting your healthy spirit back so it can sustain the maximum power. We all misfire from time to time. Some of us burnout. I suffer from that so much so, that God must have switched from matches to a bic lighter. He sparks my drive all the time.

A long time ago, I worked for a church as Administrator of Christian Education. Most of the kids are all grown up now. All of them were blessed to have had a youth pastor named Karen Estes. She became a close friend and had me looking at a lot I thought I knew, differently.

One of the things I could never seem to come to terms with, was how the 10 Commandments meshed with what Jesus said. Karen set me straight on that one. She told me that I was looking at it the wrong way. It was not about sin but was more of a love letter from God.

The first part is about our relationship with God and the second part is about our relationship with other people. It is about how to not hurt them. That was exactly what Jesus taught. That was a new spark plug for me. It was a lot more powerful knowing that God loved that much and wanted us to love each other. 

We are not to judge the sins of others, but to judge our own. We are not supposed to turn some away because we do not like how they live their lives, but we are supposed to be as Jesus was with everyone.

When I think about the Roman Centurion asking Jesus to heal His servant, it is very hard to think that Jesus would have turned anyone away.

Karen wrote something that sums all this up better than I ever could do it. Gee, she is still teaching me!

"Jesus accepted people as they were. He accepted the smelly fishermen, the hated tax collector, the women that society thought were worth nothing, and even Zachaeus the wee little man who climbed a tree to see Jesus. Jesus accepts as we are; scars, warts, and all. The guest speaker at Oviedo Pres. last Sunday was brought up in a family that was Hindu, Muslim, and Ba' hai. He decided that Jesus was the way for him because of the unconditional grace, love, and acceptance that Jesus had for everyone. God so loved the world, including Geeks, nerds, and shy little girls." Rev. Karen Estes

You may judge how people are treating you and it can make you bitter. You are being judged by people who do not know why you act the way you do, why you changed or why you seem so sad. How can they know what is going on inside of you if you do not tell them? 

How can you expect them to remember what "you" were like, if you don't even remember what you were like? Do you even remember what you did like? Stop thinking so much about what you do not like. That takes up too much time that you could be thinking of what you can still enjoy.

There is one of my favorite lines from Criminal Minds when "David Rossi" says “Scars remind us where we've been. They don't have to dictate where we're going.” 

You decide where you are going and how you are going to get there. If you have no hope, then how can you think of anything better than where you are right now? How can you dream of any life that is happier? How can you think of feeling love or laughter instead of wanting get numb, if no one shows you there is still hope of all that, and so much more? 

Change your spark plug! Stop being powered by anger. It is robbing your engine from the power it is capable of receiving!

Did that fire up your hope spark plug? Hope that helps is right inside of you. Open your eyes and look around at where you are right now that hood is up and you can see what drives you. It is time to enjoy the ride.

Did you know a spark plug is not just for your vehicle, but for your life too? The spark plugs you run on is hope and inspiration. It does not just start your the engine of your imagination. It drives you to achieve more, be more, do more and look forward to the next challenge. It is time to find that spark that the rest of your life will drive on!