Have you ever had an experience that made you feel like you were in a You Tube video? Or perhaps an old fashion Charlie Chaplin silent movie? I have. And it all started with a small thing.

I was “out the door” early one morning for a dentist appointment. I decided to take my GR86 sports car. It was sitting on the driveway. So I got in and started it. I then realized that the garage door was still open, so I got out to close it.

Assured the garage door was closed I turned back to get in my car. But it was gone. It had begun to coast down the driveway toward the street that ran in front of our house. The car has a manual transmission, and I had forgotten to set the parking brake. A small thing had gotten much larger.

Running after my car I looked to the street and was relieved to see no cars were coming. By the time I caught up with my car it was moving too fast to jump in. And then I noticed another serious problem. It was heading across the street toward a high curb. And if it hit the curb there would be damage. Fortunately, the window was down, so I reached in, grabbed the steering wheel and steered it toward the neighbor’s driveway across from our home. The neighbor’s driveway sloped up, so my GR86 coasted up the driveway and came to a stop. I took a deep breath.

But then, because of the slope, my car began to roll backwards toward the street. So again, I was running after my car. I checked to see if any cars were coming. None. So I reached through the window again and turned the steering wheel as the car approached the street so that it was coasting backwards on the street. And by then it had started to slow down. So I opened the door, jumped in and stepped on the brake. It was then that my heart began to beat again. And I wondered if any neighbors had witnessed “the circus” that had just occurred. I haven’t seen a You Tube video of “the runaway car” yet. Nor has anyone called me “Charlie.” So maybe it will just disappear into the bin of forgotten experiences.

It’s the stewardship season at 1^st Church. It’s the annual time of year when we are invited to consider our faith and our use of money, time and abilities. And we are invited to discover the joy and generosity of Christian stewardship. It’s a good thing to go “hand in hand” with Thanksgiving.

Stewardship. With everything going on in life it may seem like a small thing. But it really isn’t. It’s why Jesus taught and preached so much about money. Our generosity reveals the condition of our souls. Are we moving in a more generous direction, or not? Are we experiencing more joy in giving, or not? Are we touching more people’s lives with our money, time and gifts, or not?

I will return my pledge card. And I now make it a point to “set my parking brake.” No small things.

Done Chasing Cars (I Hope), Glenn