For the past month, our car has not moved. My wife managed to get use of something else temporarily while we tried to get some help diagnosing the problem. Lots of promises that turned out to be vapor. Finally we felt we had about enough money we could at least consider taking it to a shop.
So I asked around and it turns out the one closest to us seems capable and said they were willing. I very nearly came to the point of simply letting my wife steer while I manually push the thing a half-mile, since it was mostly downhill. That’s because we had more empty promises of help towing it. Finally my son came to the rescue with an old battered pickup from his employer.
Volvos are not made for towing. I’ve done this dozens of times in my life with all kinds of vehicles, often for other folks, and over far longer distances. This was the toughest in a very long time. There are no good attachment points and it was very difficult to keep everything smooth, despite using a stretchy tow-strap.
But it’s there and the mechanic seems to think he can fix it. It’s a relief just knowing we are that one step closer. (As I was writing this, they called and said it was fixed at a cost of $85.)
Most disturbing about the whole experience was how some of the shine was worn off a couple of friendships. There was a time in my life when such things would have really been disturbing, but God has moved me beyond that. When I wrote about emotional disentanglement as a pillar of Christian Mysticism, I had already been standing on it for some time. By God’s mercy, I have for some years been able to step outside of my own emotions, especially when I have time to prayerfully reflect. If I can invest enough prayer before I get started, most things never get emotional.
So there’s no particular feelings about this, just a realization I offered a couple of folks more trust than was appropriate. It’s not a matter of judging them, but seeing how they accept trust or don’t. It’s their choice and merely a signal of when to stop investing resources there, and direct them elsewhere. It’s still a matter of seeking God’s glory.
I can still say: “Life is good.”
I cannot tell you how overjoyed I am that your car is road worthy again and that it didn’t end up costing a fortune. No one seems to know much about volvos in my neck of the woods either! As we have found out ourselves, there are very few in our world that we can truly depend on. But then, guess that is His way of showing us on Whom we should ever depend! Happy driving! (;-)
We give thanks to God for His endless supply in support of His calling. My wife and I received an awful lot of reasonable advice to dump that car, but our hearts insisted God had plans for it. We give Him praise for confirming His Word in our hearts.