When I turned sixteen, many of the kids I knew didn't have a car of their own. For quite some time, the kids in my family were among these ranks. If I had somewhere to go, I borrowed a car from my parents to get there. Many of our friends were in a similar situation, and consequently, we frequently rode around in the minivans owned by friends' parents.
My own mother drove a full size van. It was definitely not cool, but my younger brother, Jesse, and I deemed it to be "slightly less uncool" because at least it wasn't "underpowered." If you are a teenage boy, there isn't much worse than an "underpowered" car. After lamenting about the fate of our poor friends forced to drive their parents' minivans, we wondered why anyone would ever purchase such a vehicle. I mean, here are a few of the many reasons why a minivan makes no sense:
1. It is the height of uncool.
2. It is underpowered. (See also, number 1)
3. It cannot go quickly or turn efficiently. (See also, number 1.)
4. It is usually crusted with any number of gross family snacks, treats, and other garbage that has accumulated during its years of service. (See also, number 1.)
5. It's big, but on a car frame. I am not sure why that was bad but I think it's still safe to say, see also number 1.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. Jesse insisted we both agree on this point, and after hearing his logic, I didn't really have much of a choice. I mean, see number 1! What else could we do? Jesse and I made a pact: we vowed never to own a minivan.
Years passed. Jesse and I both got married. I got pregnant, and so did his wife. And then, my little brother passed away, before he even met his beautiful children. He only had to honor this pact for 24 years, but I knew that at least I would be here to honor it for him.
I had my first baby. No problem, I was rocking the Explorer. Then I had my second. My red Explorer was still more than enough for us. Then I had a third and our family upgraded to the slightly larger Tahoe. After I got pregnant with my fourth, we decided it would sure be nice to have something with an easy access back seat. My husband insisted that I test drive a minivan. Ugh.
I really did intend to honor honor our pact, Jesse. I tried, I really did.
But after doing a little test driving, my husband compiled a new list about minivans, and it didn't leave me much room to argue either.
1. They are cheap.
2. They are convenient to use and easy for kids to access the back seats.
3. They are comfortable in the front and back, and designed for people with small children.
4. They are fuel efficient. With gas prices above $3.50/gal at the time, this was a major consideration.
5. They have automatic doors, double TVs, light screens on the windows, and a remote, keyless start.
I broke my promise and we bought a minivan.
If I were given a job as a car salesman, and tasked to sell ONLY minivans, I doubt my sales skills would matter very much. Honestly, people are either ready for one, or they just aren't that evolved yet. It took me almost six years of being a parent, and four kids, to reach the point where I was ready. I would guess that car salesmen could talk to someone for two minutes and know right away whether people are ready. I would also submit to you that there's no way for them to know, without at least approaching and talking to the person, whether that person might be ready.
Let me tell you how this is like the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are all born of man, and we are all tempted to do bad. We are all full of the desire to be good and an opposing desire to be bad. (The natural man is an enemy to God and so on.) In our lives, there will be times when we are very concerned about being cool.
Being a disciple of Christ is not cool.
In fact, Jesus Christ's teachings, throughout almost all time, have been closer to the antithesis of cool. We can probably determine pretty quickly whether someone we meet is "cool," but we don't know many of the circumstances in the lives of people around us. In fact, the state of the hearts of the people you know the best may still sometimes be a mystery. It's easy to look and guess whether people are "ready" to be reborn as sons and daughter of God. It may be simple to predict that someone with lots of tattoos, for instance, or someone drinking a lot of alcohol, or someone putting work before family, would not be interested in hearing about God.
It would also often be wrong.
Remember that when Christ was criticized for teaching people considered to be beneath Him, He basically said that it's the sick who need a doctor. Similarly, it is those you think might not be ready who may be most prepared and most in need of selling their convertible and buying a minivan.
My point is this. You are all surrounded by friends and family. You know them and you love them, but you don't know, until you talk to them about it, whether they want to hear about the gospel of Christ. You don't know whether their heart is ready to be changed.
I had a friend I was sure would not be interested in learning more about Christ's restored church. For some reason, the Spirit prompted me, despite somewhat awkward circumstances, to offer to have her over, and sit with her while the missionaries taught her the basics of our faith. To my great surprise, she agreed. In fact, she was delighted to learn more and she was possibly the most eager, the brightest shining light of an investigator I've ever been blessed to see. I am so glad I didn't judge based on my preconceived notions (she did not have tattoos or drink a lot, but she did have a grandfather she loved and respected who was a pastor in another faith, and she did regularly attend church at another congregation.) She was baptized less than two months from the day we began the lessons and she continues to rock that minivan.
I am so grateful for the beautiful joy the gospel brings to my life. I am blessed beyond measure through my faith and I am so glad when I find other people who want to learn more. If you are already a Christian or other religious person, and you are not interested in learning about our faith, that's fine with me. I hope you can take away from this a renewed desire to bring your friends and family to Christ's teachings. But if you are interested in learning about being a mormon, if you have questions, or want to meet with the missionaries, please reach out to me, or another mormon friend you know, or look up the missionaries in your area on your own by going here. Finally, if you're already a member, listen to the Spirit and take the time to find out if any of your friends have evolved to the point of wanting a minivan, too. It might surprise you who has.
Well said as usual!
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