Yesterday Jennifer and I went to Mecum Auction. We look forward to this “Best Car Show of the Year” as we like to say. I am so blessed to have a wife who loves what I have a passion for. Her Dad had the same passion I have so it comes naturally for her. When I bought our tickets last February, I texted her to let her know that we have them. She asked what day it takes place so she could put it on her calendar.

We walked through the doors into the auction and had to take the traditional picture with the huge sign behind us. Someone offered to take our picture if I would take a picture of his group of three. I agreed. He took my phone and was setting up to take the picture, Jennifer said, ‘He might run off with your phone.’ Without a thought I responded, ‘I can catch him.’ as we smiled for the photo.

The cars this year were above and beyond our expectations. There were countless vintage Corvettes, 1st generation Camaros, early Chevelles and Nomads. All of which we looked over closely. These are our favorites.

When we got tired of walking, we went over to where the auction was taking place to sit and watch for a while. First up was a gorgeous 1968 Big Block Corvette. The auctioneer announced that this was one of the cars from the Bill Barker Estate. The hammer went down at a premium price. The next few cars did not disappoint, they were also from the Estate. One of those cars was a 1957 Chevy Wagon. That caught our attention since we have a 1953 Chevy Wagon. When it sold and was towed off the floor out to where the cars were parked, we got up and followed it. We wanted to look that car over to get ideas for our project wagon. That ’57 wagon looked like it did when it was sold new but was modernized with current safety features and drive-trane. That is exactly how we want to build our ‘Nellie Belle.’ Where they parked that ’57 wagon, I noticed that entire row of cars was from the estate. I later looked up how many cars were from that estate – there were 25 at the auction, but that was not the entire car collection that was owned by Bill Barker.

Later I looked up Bill Barker to see what his story was. He grew up working at his grandfather’s gas station where he developed a love for cars. He later worked in the petroleum industry and made a lot of money when he sold a company he had started eight years earlier. He started collecting cars later in life and enjoyed the “hunt” for the next car buy.

I thought about Mr. Barker and wondered if I were in his situation, I would do no different than he did. But as I watched his passion being sold off at the auction, I thought of what kind of legacy I would leave if everything I collected was sold off at my estate sale. Would that close the book on my life?

Flashback to when I was a teenager; I spent a lot of time at our local drag-strip with my brothers. We loved drag racing. We would race our cars from time to time and loved the adrenaline rush of staging the car, and the anticipation of the christmas tree lights dropping as the signal that the race was on. One time when we were there, my older brother was bracket racing his ’57 Chevy. In fact, he won that night and brought home the trophy. One moment in time as he was on the return road, I was standing at the fence that separated the track at the starting line and the pits. I recall clearly as if it happened today, I thought ‘choose what you love most’. I was a young Christian; I had accepted Christ as Savior a couple years before this. I believe with my whole heart that was the still small voice that all Christians experience. At first I was confused; what do I love most and what should I choose? I thought about that moment many times in my life. The high-performance cars, the smell of racing fuel and burnt rubber, the adrenaline rush of the race; all of this I had to choose what to love most. I sincerely believe I had to choose between the life God had for me or the life that attracted me. Before we left the drag strip that night I choose the life God had for me. That set me on a path I could not create myself, only God provided for me.

I am now 64 years old and still have a passion for cars. I love working on them, driving them, and building my car projects. But what I love most is God’s love, direction, provision, and protection. When I breathe my last, everything I had or did is gone as vapor. Only my love for God through Christ Jesus is eternal.