Have you ever had your shoelace come undone at a time when it’s impossible to stop and do it up? Your arms are full of parcels, or you are standing on a crowded subway platform? There is nothing more awkward than trying to two-step around a dangling shoe lace while attempting to keep your body upright.
That’s kind of like my life right now.
There are loose ends everywhere. Small, annoying issues that need almost daily follow up, and big, audacious problems–that need almost daily follow up. I push one ahead by a centimetre and another stubbornly drops back two centimetres. These loose ends require constant attention–phone calls, emails, follow up and more follow up. It’s beyond annoying and stressful.
One of my loose ends has been my car. At almost 10 years old, she has served me well. I bought her after my husband died, trading in both his vehicles. She was my first brand new car, and my favourite colour–red. I always name my cars, and she was Minnie. Like the mouse.
About six months ago, she started to develop electrical problems. I never knew what I was going to find when I got in. One day, the radio wouldn’t work. Another, the windows stopped responding. The day she wouldn’t open without several tries, I stopped locking her. Horribly stressful was the day the gas cap locked shut, and I couldn’t put gas in her. However, worse than all of that was the morning I started her and had to push the brake to the floor to get a response. Oh, my.
Then there are the days of indecision. Do I fix her, to the tune of several thousand dollars, or do I start looking for something new? If I fix her, will that be all that is needed for a while, or will I have more problems in a few months? If I look for something new, should it be leased or owned, new or used? What brand? What colour?
Hey, colour is important!
This shoelace was dragging in the mud, and I wasn’t at all sure I could stay upright.
Prayer and consulting lots of counsellors helped me to decide I needed a new-to-me, used Honda Fit. There is a Honda dealership within walking distance, and for me, it was a good fit. (Sorry…) My son-in-law helped me work through how much I could spend and various other options, and last Saturday, we headed to the dealership.
Two important facts to note here. I had a good friend praying that God would have exactly the right car waiting for me. And I, in a tiny voice, was reminding God that colour was kind of a big deal for me. With apologies to all my friends and family who have grey or black vehicles, I hate black and grey vehicles. In my little voice, I asked God if maybe the car He had for me could be something other than black or grey. I loved my red car, but I was open to other options. Just not black or grey.
In the dealership, our salesman took us out to look at the used cars. “Unfortunately, we don’t have any Fits on the lot. They go as quickly as they come in.” We looked at used Civics, but they were more than I could afford. I whispered to God that emotionally, I couldn’t handle a long search. He knew that, right? We went inside to compare the cost of new Fits to used Civics, when our salesman came running to us with an enormous grin on his face. “We just had a Fit brought in. I didn’t even know about it!”
We went outside, and there is was. I knew immediately it was my car. Not too old, good mileage, and white. I could live with white. If we had gone to the dealership a few hours later, it probably wouldn’t have been there. The car I needed at the price I could afford. And white.
I brought her home tonight. I am overwhelmed by my Father who cares about my loose ends, my dangling shoelaces, and provides the right car, in the right colour, at the right time. Just for me. This God, the God of loose ends, can be trusted with all the other dangling bits of my life.
And yours.
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