DIVINE MEMORABILIA

Don't Waste Your Worry

In a previous blog post, I have explained our family's woes with vehicles that seem possessed with a curse. We have had just about everything go wrong with our cars, but every time, we try to approach such troubles as just another punchline to the absurdity of issues in our lives. There is no need to tear out hairs or weep and moan because those actions will do nothing to solve our vehicular problems.

This attitude was truly put to the test on the evening of January 1, 2014. My husband was stopping for coffee on the way home from an overnight mountain hiking trip. When he walked back out to the parking lot, something was wrong. The text I received from him read: "Give me a call. The unthinkable has happened. The car was stolen."

Not just any car though. The good one. The reliable one. Not the one that needs a new transmission and radiator. Not the one that cannot shift into reverse. No, that scrap pile was what we had left.

He gave a few more details after that, but my initial response was merely raised eyebrows. "Wow," I thought, "that's different." Sure, it was a bad situation to be in, but what else could we do but accept that the car was gone and move on to the next thing?

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:6-7

I called my husband and talked to him. He was understandably a bit more rattled than I was since he was the one who was stranded until his friend could come get him. He was the one who had to file the police report and call the insurance company. I'm thankful for the peace that God gave me at the time; it would do no good to freak out and start accusing anybody of making mistakes.

If you have ever had anything like this happen to you, then you know that the process with the insurance company is a slow one. We had no illusions about getting the car back at all or getting a replacement in a timely manner. But honestly, this was nothing new.

Being plenty familiar with suddenly becoming a one-car family, we began to work out what the new schedule would look like. Sacrifices would have to be made, but that was just one more thing to figure out then move on. Within a few days, we had settled into a new normal.

God provided so much support from the inside out. From the peace that made no sense, to family who expressed their willingness to help, to a friend who drove me around town to run errands and go grocery shopping, we had no reason to develop worry. And even if we didn't have the help of loved ones, how would worrying accomplish what needed to be done?

Besides, worrying wouldn't get our car back.

Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" — Matthew 6:25-27

And through all this, we come to the next part in our story, which has a surprisingly happy twist. The police called my husband about a week later to report that our car had been found just a couple miles from where it had been stolen. It was illegally parked, ticketed, then towed to the impound lot.

Turns out that the vehicle was totally unharmed and nothing of value appeared to be missing. Not only that, but only a quarter tank of gas had been used. Well, then!

We had a good laugh, trying to figure out what happened with these silly thieves who did not steal anything but a car and barely drove it anywhere. Perhaps somebody was merely desperate for a ride to work or needed to pick up a friend at the airport or something. Maybe God arranged it so that He could work in the life of a young budding thief and show him the error of his ways. Who knows?

Whatever the case, I am thankful that we have a working vehicle back in our possession. That week could have been fraught with anxiety and stress, but God's calm and peace filled those days instead. It was an interesting test of faith, and I am grateful that our worries did not win out in the end.

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." — Matthew 6:34

Image credit: Geoffery Kehrig; Some rights reserved

Tags: Christian-Life | Family-Life | Hardships | Personal-Life

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Published 1-15-14