The Sovereignty of God and Riding a Hawg

In just two short weeks, I shall begin my endeavor at higher education once again. I have a few hurdles to jump through, which I will now share, and you may put forth your two cents.

One is that this enterprise shall cost me around $400 a month in tuition. Can you say, "OUCH!" They ain't giving book learnin' away, that's for sure. That's only as a non-degree student; I tremble to think of what the actual Ph.D program will run me.

The second challenge is that my car is a clunker and it's 90 miles from my house to the seminary. That's roughly 360 miles a week on a car that I sometimes doubt will get me across the street. With the above tuition, a new vehicle is not an option. Unless....

Though I can't affod a new car, I can afford to get myself a Yamaha V-Star 650 Classic. That's a motorcycle folks, and a fine one at that. It gets over 50mpg, won't get blown off the road by passing diesel trucks, and it reeks of manliness. I daydream about riding that bad boy to seminary. I'll be the Ph.D student who has cool chaps, rides in the rain, sleet and snow, and is generally the envy of all the other students. Except the music guys, they are a different lot.

However, my wife and friends are not entirely keen on this idea. (We even have a few bike riders at church who are uneasy with this. It's sort of like a smoking parent threatening to whip a child if they start smoking I guess.) They are afraid I will wind up splattered on I-10 East between here and New Orleans. Though I have repeatedly reminded them that God is Sovereign, and that dying is actually not so bad, and that I will exercise the utmost caution, they have not yet been persuaded. I tell them that in Brazil, Italy, and Portugal, everyone rides a motorbike. They don't care.

Here's the bottom line: the bike is awesome, inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and gobs of fun to ride. And, it could be a good draw to church for the local motorcycle gang. (You never know.) The downside is that I could wind up roadkill faster than you can say "Idiot Preacher!" I promised my wife that if I get one, I will up my life insurance policy. That helped a little, and I believe that she commented that next time she will marry for common sense and money and not just handsome.