Some days I amaze myself at how good I am at getting myself into messes. If they had a college course for that, I’d have my doctorate and would have graduated with top honors.
My most recent mishap occurred at the outlet mall, so if you observed a crazy woman in the parking lot, I was that lady.
I was in a hurry. I’d stopped by the dollar store for a few things and then I drove to the other side of the mall for another errand.
Imagine my delight when the closest parking place to the store was empty. I zipped around to park. But in my hurry that afternoon, I cut in too sharp and the back wheel ended up on top of the curb . . . and then our SUV dropped down onto the pavement.
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My vehicle was crooked, so I went to back up and straighten it. And that’s when I realized I might have a problem. When I tried to back up, the SUV wouldn’t move.
After a couple of tries, I realized the back tire was trapped by the curb. I could hear the rubber scraping the concrete. Aha, I thought, I’ll pull up a little and then I’ll have room to maneuver.
Wrong! I hadn’t noticed it when I pulled in, but there was a concrete barrier to keep cars from pulling through the parking spaces . . . and my tires were smack-dab on that puppy.
I tried multiple times to ease up and then back, trying to get a speck of room to angle the vehicle a little more. The tire kept scraping. I could smell the rubber burning and saw smoke drifting up.
So I did what any smart woman would do—I panicked. Sweat was trickling down my back, I was almost in tears, and my stomach was churning. Not to mention that I was a spectacle to every passer-by. I was at the point where I thought I’d have to call my husband to come help me.
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Finally, finally, I thought to pray. “Oh, God, PLEASE will you help me get out of this mess!” Heart racing, I tried again—and this time, I could tell the vehicle moved just a little. I kept at it a few more times, until I got the SUV inched over enough that I could back out of the parking space. No, I didn’t stay to run my errand!
Why is it that we so often forget that the 911 line is always open for God and that He always has the solution to our messes—even when it’s a grandma trapped in a parking space?
Are you in a mess today? We have a God who specializes in solving our problems. He’s waiting to hear from us and He’s ready to move on our behalf whenever we need Him.
But sometimes the problem is that we don’t call Him.
