Tuesday, January 3, 2012

The Key to Faith

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So the family and I took our monthly trip to the Tri-Cities today. We stopped in at the mall and grabbed a Starbucks (funny, Starbucks is in my autospeller...anyways...). As I got out of the car, the sun was shining and it was pleasantly nice out so I took my jacket off and in to Starbucks we went. We enjoyed some Yummy warm coffee (white hot cocoa for Ike) and then we were off to our next stop. God had other plans than just Win Co for us though. As I placed my coffee on top if the car, I reached for the keys I unconsciously place in my coat pocket, right side to be exact, every time I get out of the car. But wait! I threw my coat in the back seat to enjoy the weather! Oh no. An S-word came out of my mouth as my son and husband holding hands behind me approached the car. After Cam scolded me for my potty mouth I confessed with a flushed face what I had done. 45 minutes away from home, anyone we know, and a spare key...we tried to figure out our options to unlocking the car. Isaac had fun using the rear window as a slide while hubby called our insurance company to see if we had road side assistance coverage. I could see he was getting frustrated after several loops through the automated message line..."press 1 for English, press 2 for a rep..." When he finally got a hold of a live person he kept repeating everything, "No... CAmerOn...NO C as in Charlie, Alpha, Mary, Echo, Roger, Oscar, Nancy...". I knew we were in real trouble when he started using the same alphabet as the military uses. Then he started to say, "I can't give you my policy number because it's in the glove box which is locked in my car. You want a phone number to verify? You need another phone number to verify? You can't find our policy in your records? Nevermind, thanks anyway for your time. Click". In the meanwhile, I had a monologue going in my head with God. He was telling me just to start asking people for help. One person walked by. I said nothing. A couple walked by. I said nothing. An old man walked by and I finally asked him but he was weird. I had almost given up on myself but God kept pushing it. Another couple walked by and just as they were about to pass me I asked them if they knew how to break into a car. They laughed and said no but the guy was super nice...even tried to unlock our car with his keys - said his Honda used to work with other keys lol. And the lady suggested the mall security. I thanked them as they wished us luck and they drove off. A minute passed and the same couple slowed down as they drove passed us again. Two rows over from where we were was a locksmith's van. She had taken the number down for me and said we might try calling him. I knew at that moment God was looking out for us. He placed that van there just for us. Well okay, not just for us. But isn't it weird that the guy was working in the back of the van when we walked up to it? It looked like Gapetto's workshop with a soft lamp lighting a work area where an older man hunched over his table with a magnifying glasses on his head and his hands working on some delicate project. We knocked on his door and told him what had happened asking if he would be able to help us. He grabbed a couple of tools and walked back over to our car. He was a man of very few words and even fewer smiles. As he worked Isaac crawled to the roof of the car so he could watch his new friend work with these tools he's never seen before. I was worried the man would be annoyed with a two-year-old watching over him but he was very kind to him and even smiled at him. Then maybe a minute later we heard that familiar "click". He picked up his tools and started to walk away as we asked him how much we owed him. He said nothing and kept walking. We thanked him as he still kept walking and by the time Isaac said thank you he had to yell it. We were expecting to pay $40 at least for my stupid mistake but I knew God was going to look after us just like he did two days before Christmas when our car wouldn't start and all we needed was a new battery.

See it doesn't take much to see God if you rely on him for the little things. He was telling me to keep my coat on but I paid no attention to it. And then he was telling me to step out of my comfort zone and rely on strangers to help, which I had a hard time paying attention to. And then he was telling me to be like my son to this kind, but awkward, locksmith and know he wouldn't rip us off.

And it doesn't take much to find the key to faith. It's surrendering to trust in the one who provides.

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