Not long ago, I had the pleasure of taking my car to the mechanic.
Our trusty minivan was emanating some funny noises, so we knew something was wrong. A knowledgable friend diagnosed the problem and recommended that we get a new engine mount (whatever that is).
It was a Thursday morning. I drove over to Sun Tire, where I left the car for its checkup. Meanwhile, my baby and I had a pleasant stroll home in the hot Jacksonville sunshine.
It wasn’t long before Sun Tire called to let me know that the minivan needed a new engine mount (surprise!). We agreed on the price, and they assured me that I could pick up the car in the afternoon.
When my little guy and I woke up from our nap, we prepared to walk back to Sun Tire. I checked the voice mail before heading out, just to be sure the repair was done.
Trouble
“Hi, this is Travis from Sun Tire. Give me a call back when you have a chance.”
Hmmm, that was not the message I was expecting. I was hoping for “Your Kia is ready for pickup, Mrs. Rabinowitz. Come on over as soon as y'all would like.”
Well, our Kia was not ready for pickup after all. The generic engine mount parts did not fit our car. The correct part could only be obtained from the manufacturer. It would cost a bit more, and would be ready by mid-morning on Friday.
Oh.
I was counting on having that minivan to take my girls to their speech therapy early on Friday morning.
I guess not.
After weighing my options (there weren’t too many), I decided that the next best approach was to drive my husband and children to school on Friday morning in our 12 passenger van so that I could keep the van to drive the girls to speech therapy.
After speech therapy on Friday morning, I dropped the girls off at school. I called Sun Tire to find out how soon my minivan would be ready.
The walk to Sun Tire from school is about 10 minutes (pushing the stroller), so I was hoping I might be able to walk over straight from school. This would be especially convenient because the van needed to stay at school so that my husband could drive everyone home after school was over.
The car wasn’t quite ready yet. It would be done within the hour.
An hour was too long to keep an active toddler busy at a mechanic, so I drove back home. My poor son had been strapped in and out of the car and stroller so many times that he arched his back when I tried to strap him into his carseat. I felt so bad for him, cooped up all morning!
At last, we were home. I was so happy for the little guy to run around and play.
As I unlocked the front door, my cell phone rang.
“Hi, this is Travis from Sun Tire. Just calling to let you know your car is ready.”
Oh, great. Why couldn’t he have told me that 10 minutes ago when I was right there? Now I had to strap my toddler back into the van, drive to school, and walk ten minutes to Sun Tire.
Wait!
Hold on. I might be annoyed, but this is NOT a Bitachon reaction!!
Let’s rewind and play it again:
This is a bit of a nuisance, but if this is what happened, then it is from Hashem, and I accept it with love!
Why didn’t Travis tell me it would be ready in 10 minutes when I was right there? Because Hashem did not want me to have that information at that time, that’s why!
Pease Note
I had a wonderful experience with Sun Tire and would recommend them to others for repair. (I would go back there again myself).
The fact that the repair was not ready as expected and cost more than expected was not their fault at all, and I do not blame them for it one bit!!
Practical Bitachon
Change Your Mind!
Sometimes, our first reaction is to be annoyed, frustrated, even angry. But just because that is our first instinct does not mean that it has to be our last!
Allow yourself the freedom to adjust your attitude and reframe the situation: “If this is Hashem’s Will, then it is my will too!”
Keep Things in Perspective
Yes, this was annoying.
Yes, it seemed like it could have been easily prevented.
Yes, it took up most of my morning (on a Friday, no less!).No, this was not the end of the world, and it was not really even anyone’s fault. It just was. Exactly as it was meant to be.
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