Testimony
What is to follow is my testimony. It is an account of the long journey I am on, and how my life has changed since I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I have paralleled my life story to what I believe could be the life story of Brianne, our 1955 Chevy.
Dreaming in the summer of 1997
In 1954 Chevrolet started producing the 1955 Chevy, a car with a new look, more power, and a safer ride. Some of these cars were produced at the General Motors plant in Janesville, Wisconsin.
On October 27, 1954 I was born. I was the first child born to Raleigh and Doloras Reece. I’m sure to my parents that I was perfect. I’m sure they were satisfied with me as all parents are when they have their first child.
The first years of having a 1955 Chevy were probably not difficult. The biggest problem that owners of this car faced was the leaky transmission. As time went on I’m sure that little things began to go wrong with this perfect car. (This not an actual picture of my car at this time in her life!)
While I was growing up I always knew my parents cared about me, but my life was not exactly flawless any more and neither was I. In school I struggled. I was left-handed in a right-handed world. I was easily distracted and have a very hard time staying focused on the one thing. When the teacher was on step five, I was just finishing step one and was trying to figure out what step two was and consequently got reprimanded for not being on step five.
As years go on, that 1955 Chevy was no longer the picture perfect car it once was. Improvements were made to the newer cars and for many owners it became the time to get a new car again. That 1955 Chevy was sold and now had new owners with high expectations. (This not an actual picture of my car at this time in her life!)
I was the oldest of six kids and never seemed to be able to keep ahead of all of them as I thought I needed to. Just when I felt comfortable in school and had made a few friends, my parents decided that it was time to move again! I did not fit in at the new school. I somehow did not meet the expectations of the teachers and students in this new school.
to 
Now this 1955 Chevy is 18 years old! It certainly would not be the car that you would pick to go on long trips in. You would not dare go much farther than you would want to have it towed. Who knows what could go wrong with it now! It was probably not in bad enough shape to junk, but no longer top of the line choice of a car! (This not an actual picture of my car at this time in her life!)
At 18 years old, I felt like I had no real direction or purpose. I did graduate to make my parents happy. I had a job where my dad worked, but I did not see it as a stable job. So, I set off to find my purpose in the United States Marine Corps. My girlfriend would be patiently waiting for me and making plans to be with me when I returned from Japan.
At 20 years old, that 1955 Chevy is now playing the game of needing things replaced! Although the owner usually feels like if they replace one thing (like the starter) that that will be it for a while! Unfortunately, a short time later something else will need to be replaced (like the alternator or radiator)! Dents are accumulating and now very little time is spent on the appearance of this 1955 Chevy! (This not an actual picture of my car at this time in her life!)
While in Japan I received the dreaded “Dear John” letter! When I returned home, I found a girlfriend on the rebound and married her. Things went well for a while.
For the 1955 Chevy the cycle continues replace the tires and the brakes need replacing. Just when you think everything will be ok for a while, you discover that the floor pans are rusted through! This car is no longer a car you are the proud owner of. It now is merely a mode of transportation! (This not an actual picture of my car at this time in her life!
My wife and I spent almost 2 years in California. Our beautiful son was born just before we came back home. We bought a house and I was starting to live the family life I had always dreamed of. I had a 1955 Chevy that my wife bought for me. I planned to build it into the car of my dreams! Things went well for a while, but as time went on, it was clear that I was not able to meet her needs and she left! My dream of being a happy family was short lived.
At 27 years old the 1955 Chevy was in such need of repair that it was no longer usable as a car without major repair! She would soon be a shell in need of total restoration. A person would have the dream of restoring her, but for one reason or another she would be sold and sit in another yard or garage before being sold again! Seeing the road to happiness was not in her near future.
I took the divorce very hard. I was bitter, angry and depressed! I struggled day-to-day hoping to make ends meet and trying to meet my son’s every need and want! I focused on all of the negatives in life for a very long time. I was so upset that I looked at all of the weak spots of my 1955 Chevy and I decided that it needed to be cut up! I was unable to see that some day things could be better if I looked outside of my very small world of work and my son! The one thing that I did have that kept me going besides my son was my love for cars and my talents for repairing and improving old cars. I did buy another 1955 Chevy to build into my dream car.
One day that 1955 Chevy would be hauled to a garage and really be worked on! Someone would take and keep interest in it. They would work on it for a long time and continue to work on it until it would see the “Road of Happiness” again! One day the 1955 Chevy would be restored, not to be like it was before, but it would have a life that was renewed!
In 1991 I decided that I should start looking at the world around me a little closer, because it would not be long and my son would be grown up and leading his own life. That March, a friend asked me if I would help out at his mother’s house if repairs were needed while he was on vacation. He also indicated that his daughter who was going through a divorce was living there. He said that maybe I should take her out; that she needed to laugh and be happy again! I was surprised that he would think that I could make anyone laugh or be happy! My 12-year-old son helped me write a note to ask Anne out on a date. With his encouragement, I put the note in her mailbox! After being alone and only going out on a couple other dates in ten years, this was a big step for me!
When restoring a car, one thing that is challenging is finding all of the parts that you need. This takes lots of time, patience and a lot of parts cars! Parts that are gone or useless in one car may be near perfect in the next car you find!
From that day forward, things changed in my life! I met this woman (the mother of three boys) who had been through many trials and hardships, but she had something that I never had when I was going through these difficult times. She had hope, direction and a sense of belonging and purpose! It did not take me long to find out that these things that she had were things that I too could have, but I was not going to get them from her or anybody here on this earth!
Once all of the necessary pieces are located, it is time to put all of the pieces together. The whole time you are working, you are hoping that the end result really looks like a 1955 Chevy!
I struggled with this concept of eternal life by accepting Jesus as my Lord and Savior for a while and then Anne showed me a picture that changed my life forever! The picture is simple, but the impact on my life was not! While looking at this picture Anne pointed out to me that there is no handle on the outside of the door, but that it must be opened from the inside. Since I opened that door, my life has changed.
The one thing about a car that is restored is that it is never finished. It
is a journey that never ends! It is a continual process of changing and adding
things to it to make it the best it can be for the purpose the owner has set for
it.
My life did not miraculously change overnight, but I have found the hope, direction and purpose! After dating Anne for only 2 months, I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her by my side! We were married on November 16, 1991. We have faced many challenges raising our 4 boys! The one thing that we firmly believe has helped us make it through every challenge we have faced is that we have Christ as the head of our household. We pray together everyday and we know that it is God that gives us the strength that we need to live each day to its fullest.
In 1996, we were at a place financially that we could have purchased a new vehicle or put money into my dream car, my 1955 Chevy. I was apprehensive, but Anne was optimistic and encouraging. I knew the opportunity was realistic, but I didn’t trust my abilities. At one point Anne said I had a week to arrange the bodywork and paint to be done, or she was going to start making arrangements to buy a new car and the one she liked had a $30,000 price tag! I then realized that she was serious about me completing my dream car! The more that we talked about restoring the car the more I discovered what her purpose was. It was not to restore this car to original. As I thought about my life and how it was restored by my acceptance of Jesus, our 1955 Chevy’s life would be restored to glorify Jesus! Things just started falling into place. When we were brainstorming about what design should be put onto the seats, I went to the library and did some research on Christian symbols. I was considering purple for the color and when I read that it meant penitence, it was at that time that I reached my final decision. When I read about the origin of the Christian fish, I was intrigued and saw this as another opportunity to share about Christianity! When we walked into the office of the person we were considering to have do the interior and saw his Bible open on his desk, we knew who had lead us there! When we thought we were going to have to put things on hold for a while because we had run out of money to spend on the car, someone I had not talked to in years called to see if I had a part for sale that he needed. Unbelievably, at the end of that day, I had the exact amount of money needed to buy the needed part! The money needed for the interior came from a place that we had not expected. When we contracted for the paint job, the cost was far more than I felt we could afford, but unexpectedly, money that was owed to us was paid, so that cost was covered also!
When the car was ready to be on the road and needed to have insurance put on it, we had to add up all of the costs. We were truly amazed and still are convinced that if God did not have a purpose for this car, it would not be done today!
When I consider the cost that God had to pay for my salvation- the suffering death of His Son- it amazes me that he was willing to pay it. But he has a purpose for me too! I would not be here today without Him.
I believe that God makes ALL things beautiful IN HIS TIME!
Brian William Reece, Sr.
May 2001
Janesville
Relay For Life