When a Car Blunder Happens...

Andrew & Keyra thinking about car blunder

My latest writing distraction: car problems.

One car has a flat tire. The other car, our newer used car, had nothing wrong with it—until our son decided to put gas in it for the first time. Apparently the warning signs posted and bright yellow pump aren’t enough to signal using the diesel pump might be a mistake.

If this unfortunate blunder happens, it’s best not to start the car and tow it where the diesel fuel can be cleaned out of the system. The worst course of action would be to drive the car. Since my husband was oblivious to the fact that our car had the wrong fuel sitting in its tank, he drove it to the bank and back. He wondered why the car wasn’t starting right and sputtered all the way home, ready to die any minute.

For some reason, our car problems always happen on the weekend. All the trusted advice I got from Google stressed getting the bad gas out immediately, even towing it to a mechanic. Our mechanic is conveniently located on our street a block away—inconveniently, however, closed on Sundays. We have no choice but to wait and let our car soak in the bad stuff until Monday when we push it up the block for detox. Like taking any strong drug, we are expecting some side effects, hopefully not of the lethal kind. We need this car for our family of seven.

So we wait and worry until tomorrow, exactly what we shouldn’t do. Maybe if I could have gone to church today, I would focus on scripture truths: “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?” Luke 12:25-26. And: “Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you.” Psalm 55:22.

This is a car problem, not a life or death situation. It’s just money, maybe a lot of money, but God will provide what we need…so time to get over it, stop procrastinating, stop googling questions, and get back to writing my novel…after I groom our dog, do the laundry, and bake banana bread. I’m sure the sweet smell of chocolate chips melting in the bread will provide glorious inspiration.

What problems are interfering with your goals for the day?