Is it always when you’re talking to costumer service, that things either go from bad to worse, or from bad to better? Maybe? lol I think it all depends on the human perspective.

I tried to be very optimistic on the phone with Thomas, who assured me I couldn’t schedule the delivery on any other day but Tuesday or Thursday, and then Sally proceeded to do the same. I’m not going to lie, I was starting to get a little frustrated, it was a long day at work, patients was wearing a little thin. I continued the conversation with the second of two managers, who was trying to assure me that the $300 delivery charge wouldn’t change the delivery day to Saturday. Like come on Rhonda, I paid $300 and you can’t deliver the item to my house? Something is just a little off about this…no? Maybe? See, I told you, it’s a matter of perspective.

After a solid 25 minutes on the phone, the conversation was whining down and Rhoda “rechecked” her computer and said she would call me tomorrow with a Saturday delivery day, if it was a possibility. A possibility, maybe? What does that even mean? lol

The moment I was no longer on the phone, was when the horrible rattling sound that I just assumed was a part of my imagination, got louder. All of a sudden the conversation I was having a few moments ago, and the lack of a scheduled delivery seemed like a distant memory. What in the world was that awful rattling sound?!

Turns out when you park the car inside your garage, the sound just amplifies louder, and it’s actually harder to pretend that it isn’t there. lol Oh, don’t look at me like that. We all do it. We all crank up the radio pretending that the problem is going to go away, and then when the next song comes on, and there is that long pause, yeah, that one, you can’t pretend anymore. In that moment I was experiencing my long pause, and I knew the rattling sound wasn’t going away. It sounded like I was starting a new rock band under the car, and like I was a terrible drummer so…

Sometimes you need to be proactive, and sometimes you just need to walk the dog. So that’s exactly what I did. I took Abby (our sweet pup) on a long walk around the neighborhood. I think they call this soul searching. Or maybe procrastinating, let’s not put labels on it.

Texting the hubby was out of the question. He would only worry about a problem he couldn’t resolve while at work, and I would tell him when he was home from work anyway. Besides, I texted him about how I was working on our delivery situation, and he told me how I was a “Sexy, and brilliant wife,” and I just couldn’t find it in my heart to ruin the moment.

So I did the next best thing. I texted the sisters. Now don’t judge, one is 1,500 miles away, and the other is 3,000 miles away. But sometimes, it helps when someone can hold your hand across a text message, and tell you that everything will be okay. My sisters always remind me that it will all be okay, and that God always has my back, ALWAYS! My sisters even got me excited about a new car I could now get, which wasn’t in the plan book until later, but heck sometimes God just wants you to have a new car? lol I had to believe that God had a plan, a big one, and I just had to trust that plan no matter what. Especially since you and the hubs just bought a house 2 months ago. No big, right? Just trust.

Remember, in the end it’s always about perspective.

I took a minute, and said a prayer, and asked God for guidance. A moment of reflection if you will. It was just that, again, simple, short, and I was calm. That was the weird part, since before the walk with Abby I looked up online, “Problems with rattling in a vehicle,” and scary things popped up and giant dollar bills. Dollar bills you had pay, not claim. lol

I continued to pray, and the calmness remained. I then heard it, His voice, clearly, “Do you remember the last time you talked about your car with a co-worker, when you did repairs? They shared information about an auto body shop that they trusted, because GIRL, you overpaid on your repairs. Go find that sticky note they wrote up, and give them a call, GO!” When God speaks, he doesn’t stutter.

I didn’t even know where to begin to look. So I went through my entire wallet hoping I stuck the note in there, and nope. But the peace remained. After a few more moments and pauses, I remembered that I took the sticky note and placed inside my Agenda, for a rainy day. It was neatly stuck down between the pages, with a clear written phone number, name, and recommendation (Nothing is ever just a coincidence, remember that. Everything is just a matter of perspective.)

It was about 4:25, and the shop closed at 5. So, I dialed, it was gravity itself, I didn’t even have a moment to think before the line was ringing, and a lovely, gentle voice picked up the phone. She was kind, and I introduced myself. I begin to spill my heart in what felt like one run on sentence, spoken without a single breath of air, and it ended with, “Would you be able to look at it tomorrow?” There was a pause on the other line, and Cathy (not her real name) responded with, “Unfortunately, we have a busy day tomorrow…” I could already hear my own disappointment, and my lack of faith and doubt settling in, when Cathy continued with, “How about right now?” I looked at the time and it was about 4:28, I told her that it would take me 25 minutes to get there, and if that was still okay since they would be closing by the time I showed up, and she was almost shrill and responded, “Sure! See you soon,” and hung up the phone.

I was stunned as to what had transpired in the last 3 minutes. I was stunned, and immediately put on my coat, and headed to the car. For the first time that day, when I got into my car, I pushed all my doubts out the window with all my faith in my heart, and truly begin to pray. I just prayed, as I continued to listen to the loud rattling sound that omitted while I was sitting in idle.

20 minutes later…

It was 4:47 as I pulled up into the auto body shop. A nice man was cashing out a customer, who seemed very happy to spend his money (but really). lol Not something that you see every day. They parted ways, and this kind man smiled and asked me for my keys, “You have the rattling sound, right?” I handed him my keys, and sat in their small waiting area. I chatted with Cathy. She told me about her family, her kids, and even gave me some insider information on what cars she thought were best, based on the years of experience and cars that have been in and out of the shop. I did ask actually. I thought it was important to know since I may or may not be buying a new car, maybe not soon but sometime in the future (see I still had faith).

15 minutes later…

Tony (not his real name) walks into the waiting area, with my keys in hand. He extends his hand out to me, with my keys, and says, “All set.” I remember just starting blankly, with giant wide eyes, and blinking a few times, repeatedly. I think time may have actually stood still. I took a deep breath, and I asked,”All set? What do you mean? Like you checked the car, and you know the problem, and we will get it all fixed, all set?” I know. I started sounding like a crazy person, maybe in that moment, I thought I was. Tony looked at me and said, “No, it’s all set, fixed. Small problem, I took care of it.” After the wave of “Awe” washed over me, I asked Tony what I owed him, and he looked like he was going to laugh at me I think for a second there. He smiled, again, and said, “All set,” again.

Cathy was on the phone with a last minute costumer, and all I remember is tears welling up in my eyes, and hugging Tony, twice, lol saying, “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” repeatedly, over and over again.

Cathy waved at me, and continued to chat on the phone as I walked out of the shop, as if I was floating on air, and we were all parting like old friends. I was overwhelmed with this giant feeling of just gratitude, and pure joy.  And in that moment my small faith, courage, trust, and prayer, in our almighty God, was so big.

It was the Worst of time, and it was the Best of times…in the end, it is a matter of perspective, and what you chose to believe, and whether you have made a decision to simply trust and walk by faith.

Sometimes our problems can seem so big, and so significant, when to God they are NOT insignificant, just NOT impossible, and a lot less intense if you listen to your spirit and have trust in the fact that God is always faithful, ALWAYS.

Happy Monday!