Katie Lea and I were using Susan’s car for an errand the other day, and I decided to be a nice husband and get her oil changed. At face value this would seem like an easy thing to accomplish… as fast oil change locations are found throughout our city.The first place I stopped had me pull into the oil change bay. The attendant then pointed Katie Lea and me to their waiting area, and told us they’d let us know when they were finished.
I’m carefully studying the varieties of car air fresheners available for purchase in the waiting area, when the oil change guy motions me to the door. He tells me that they can’t get the plug unscrewed from my car’s oil pan and they don’t want to break it trying. So, they can’t change my oil… but the guy says I can get a free car wash if I want it. Thanks… but I’ll pass on the car wash.
Katie Lea and I get back in the car and drive a couple of miles to another fast oil change place. As I started to pull into the oil change area, I almost ran over the attendant who was lying on the floor while talking on the phone. This should have told me that I was not entering a tightly run operation. But I was on a mission, so I pulled on in. (But not over his body… since he did move... finally.)
Once again, Katie Lea and I head to the waiting area and I start counting car air fresheners. Two minutes later, the oil change guy presses his face against the window and I am again beckoned to the door. I’m told that they are out of the oil filters that fit my car… so, they can’t change my oil.
I told Katie Lea to get back in the car. I’ve now entered that zone where it’s no longer about getting an oil change--this has become a quest… a mission. I drop Katie Lea off at the house, telling her that there are some things that a man has to do alone.
Five minutes down the road and I’m pulling into another speedy oil change location. This place has three bays for cars… but only one bay is open… and there’s a car in it... and everybody who works at the place is looking under the hood of this car. There are two other cars waiting to pull into the bay, so I pull in behind them. What was wrong with this picture?!
All the employees who were looking under the hood of the car seemed to be in a state of suspended animation. I noticed the guy in the car in front of me had cobwebs on him. It was time to leave this place and search out another fast oil change option.
As I pulled in, the attendant at this, my fourth oil change stop of the day, waved me and my car right into a bay. He told me I could head into the waiting area, but I had seen enough car air fresheners for one day. Thanks, but no thanks, I told the guy... I’d stay close.
I expected to be told that they’d run out of oil… but they hadn’t. In fact, they were actually speeding through my oil change. And as I stood there amazed, the attendant said, “I see you have a Bible in your back seat, so let me ask you a question.” He pulled a book out of his desk that dealt with God’s plan for your finances. He asked me if I believed God really did have a plan for the way we used our money… because he was trying to get out of debt, and thought God’s plan might work for him.
Standing there listening to the oil change guy speak, God reminded me that my day’s path was always in His hands. And I could be useful to Him… even when I was looking for a speedy oil change… if I would just keep my eyes and heart open. It took me almost two hours to get the oil in Susan’s car changed that day. But that was okay. Because I’m thinking God needed me to be someplace that day… and it took me almost two hours to get there.
