Lorenzo couldn’t believe his eyes or his luck. He was vaguely aware of his uncle’s chatter and of his friends who were busy capturing photos for their social media posts. But his attention was focused on the beauty that sat before him. His heart raced as he surveyed the 129-hp, 200-cu in straight-six engine, the leather seats and the classic curves of the Caspian blue, 1965 Mustang coupe whose keys had just been handed to him. What a feeling!

It had always been a dream of Lorenzo’s to finish restoring the car his uncle started working on when he was only six. Now, because his uncle was moving across country, his dream was coming true. He was having difficulty standing still long enough to listen to the long list of instructions his uncle was now providing. All he could think about was what he could do with this classic. His mind jumped ahead to the day he would cruise through his neighborhood in this glimmering jewel, enjoying the rumble of the engine and the feel of the refurbished leather seats.

He zoned back in as he heard his uncle say, “Now, this ‘stang will cost you as much as redoing a GT 350. It will probably take you 80-1000 hours to fix it up right. You’ll have to take it apart, piece by piece, sand it down to the frame, and then repaint almost every piece. It will mean spending a lot of time in junk yards, finding missing parts, and it may cost you more than you could get out of it if you sold it. But here’s the title, and you can always call me with any questions.

Lorenzo reached for the title and hugged his uncle. He knew his uncle was right; this would be the toughest thing he had ever done. But it would be well worth it. He already loved this car and he had only tinkered with it whenever his uncle had given him the chance. He didn’t plan on fixing it up to sell it; he planned to fix it up and enjoy it for years to come. He was taking on this restoration project for love.

Lorenzo’s mindset is not far afield from the mindset God has toward you and I. He redeems us and restore us because he values us. He chases us down and convinces us to give our lives to Him, because He sees potential in us that others do not see. He knows it may take years, but He stands ready to restore broken, rusted, dysfunctional lives — for love. �+�.