Two days in a row, when I should have been in my kitchen starting to fix dinner, I was sitting in my car in front of an office supply store waiting for help. Same problem, different solution! The solution was an epiphany that came through a two-day journey – let me tell you the story…
Last week, I finished, driving over 2,000 miles across the country with all of my belongings in an old car, found a wonderful place to live, and unpacked everything. The house looked nice, but the car was streaked with dirt, the windows dirty and bits and pieces of litter on the floor.
Every day when I went down to walk the dog, I would see the sorry state of my car. And every day I did nothing, even though I was remembering a VERY important lesson I learned the hard way – respect and take care of what you DO have and you will be given more.
The other afternoon, I ventured out to get a laser printer. The first stop was one I found on craigslist – well, shall I say ancient? So instead of going home and getting dinner ready, I got distracted and made a second stop at an office supply store to “see what they had”.
I got all the way up to the check-out counter ready to buy, but heard the still small voice inside say, "Not today, just leave." This was the same still small voice that I heard every time I looked at my car. This time I listened.
I got in the car, turned the key, and NOTHING! I had just arrived in town and I didn’t know anyone I could call for help. On top of that, I had just shared with my friends on Facebook how important it was to be grateful in all things…so, at that moment, I made a choice to sit in the car and spend time thanking God for everything, including a car that would not start!
Idea! Get roadside service agreement right now and see if they can come out to help me tonight.
Done! Such a simple problem, I had no power to make my car go, to start the engine so I could travel from the parking lot to my home. SIMPLE fix! Did I mention it was very cold and getting colder by the minute and there were so many calls for road side service as the sun when down? The calls got re-ordered and the battery put in the car in record time.
Fast forward to the very next day, the first Saturday living in my home in my new town and finally had a chance to explore. There were a few things on my to-do list that required going to different stores and parts of town. Finding a car wash was going to be first on the list, but it ended up last.
I had just gotten done purchasing the second to the last item, note cards, from the other office supply store. As I came out, I again noticed how sad and dirty the car looked. That was OK, the very stop was to clean the car. I got in and turned the key – NOTHING! No power to run the car…
Second call in two days to roadside assistance. As I was waiting, I did the one thing that had come to mind, every day, for over a week, and I cleaned the car in the parking lot with wipes from the glove compartment, inside and outside.
Guess what? It was the same problem! The solution was the connectors from the engine to the battery. I had power, but it could not get the power from the battery to the engine. Simple fix and this time got home in time to fix dinner.
So what happened?
Simple. I ignored my connection to the power source.
Was it the battery? Yes…and no.
Yes, the battery is the source ofpower for the car but the cables bring the power from the battery to the engine. The engine was disconnected from the power source.
No, I heard the still small voice that has guided me for so many years, but I had a short in my connection – I was ignoring what I knew to be true, take care of what you have and you will be given more OR what you have will be taken from you.
How many times have you seen a principle you know to be true manifest in an area of your life as a result of a disconnect in your mind?
We CAN choose differently – I believe in you!
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I miss you Joy!