Check Your Antifreeze

My car needed antifreeze!  It only needed antifreeze!  I feel somewhat silly and very much blessed that this was all it was.  Let me explain.


Thursday.  I was racing out the door to get to work.  I hopped in the Acura, turned the ignition, and got nothing.  I tried it again and again, and I got nothing.  Frustration. Friday. I get it jumped and it seemingly runs.  I was advised to let it run for about thirty minutes to let the engine recharge.  After about five minutes the car's RPM meter began jumping from 2 to 1, up and down, up and down.  Then,  it began to overheat.  I 'm began to freak out because I don't know what to do. Saturday.  I get the car towed to my mechanic in DC.  I am chatting with the tow...truck...man (???) about everything from his cars to his children; he has eleven. 

We got to the mechanic and he looked at the car.  He told me to crank it up. Once again, the engine began revving up and down.  I was almost sure that I had to do some major repair.  He looked at the radiator and sees no antifreeze (let me say that I did the same thing earlier).  He said, "You need antifreeze in the car." He put some in and then asked me to crank it up again. The engine did the same thing. He opened the cap up again and tells me that the car sucked up all the antifreeze. "You need more in here.", he said. He opened the cap, seemingly put in another gallon of antifreeze, and revved the throttle to about 5 or 6. I've never heard this car run that hard. He held the throttle lever at that level for about a minute or two, and then let it go. The engine hummed. One of the sweetest sounds from a car. No up and down motion of the rpm meter, just a beautiful hummmmmmm.

"You need to keep a gallon of antifreeze in the trunk for something like this, okay?"  And then he walked off.

I drove off trying to think about what I learned from all of this.  There are a couple of things.

1.  Check your antifreeze level, especially in the winter.  This will keep your car from freezing. Anti...freeze. Yes, a revolutionary thought.

2.  Check your family.  Constantly.  Just like you check to ensure that your car runs smoothly, I have to do the same for my family.  Is everybody okay? What are their emotions? Are they happy and joyful?  Peer pressures? etc. Is my wife happy and radiant?  Does she even like me?

3.  Check yourself.  How am I doing spiritually, emotionally, physically, mentally, and financially?  Am I striving to do my best for me and those around me?

Ever looked under the hood of a car?  All of those parts from the smallest to the largest make the car run smoothly.  One malfunctioning part can change the entire dynamic of your ride.  The same goes for the family.  It takes a lot to make a family run well.  This I have learned and still learning.  It also takes a lot to make a car run well, especially a lot of antifreeze.

I have NOS...