| Jeremiah 10:23 – ” LORD, I know that our lives do not belong to us. We have no control over what happens.” |
Yesterday, I was driving home from work. On a neighborhood street, a woman behind me honked like crazy at me as we sat at a stop sign. At the next stop, she did the same. I couldn’t see anything wrong. Were flames coming out my tailpipe? Finally, she pulled up beside me. “You have no brake lights! I have been trying to tell you.” I gave her a thank you wave. She went on. When I got home, I contemplated what it would cost me to get a newer vehicle. The truck is 23+ years old now. Everything on her is old. Rubber, wiring, metal, all of it. And it gets fatigued after so much time in the extreme heat and cold that Texas can throw at us. I did a little reading, and some suggestions were to turn the emergency flashers on and off several times rapidly to blow out any dust from that connection, as the brake wiring runs through there. Then check the fuse for the stop lights. Last, change the brake pedal switch. I also had a rear right turn signal out. So, after dinner, I ran off to AutoZone for a bulb and a brake pedal switch. I replaced the turn signal bulb, and that fixed the blinker but not the brake lights. I tried the emergency flasher trick, and nothing changed. I then installed the brake pedal switch, a five minute job. Very easy. Still no stop lights. Then, I remembered the fuse! I checked under the hood, pulled the fuse with needle nose pliers, and it was spent. That was the problem, I guessed. I had a spare fuse, so I swapped it with the bad one, and my brake lights came on when I pressed the pedal. I was so happy. No need to trade vehicles. I said a prayer of thanks. If I had followed the pros advice on the video I watched, I would have possibly saved myself the pedal switch cost of $17.50. I could hear my dad talking to me when I was troubleshooting it. We did a lot of repairs together. He is gone now, He died in October of 2019. It is good to have a mentor. Fathers are good at that. Giving advice and helping solve problems. Father in heaven, thank You for helping us with our most serious needs, in Jesus’ name, Amen!
-Jeff Beall
