Before the Car?

What did I ever do before I had a car? How did I get my groceries home? How did I get to all of my appointments? How did I get to church? How did I get to the bank? Oh my, what did I do before I had a car. I did manage to do much of those tasks by public transportation since I learned to drive late in life. I believe that I got my license when I was about thirty years old. That is old compared to those teeny boppers coming out of high school with their driver’s license at the tender age of 17. I find all of this interesting since I feel as if I am now indebted and held captive by this inanimate object called car. Or is it an animate object since it can move?

You see, my car was working really well and then I got this recall notice saying that I needed to have something replaced. Being a cautious individual, I called in, made the appointment, but had to wait months for the new part to come into the service center. Lo and behold, the part finally arrived and off I went to get the job done. While the vehicle was at the service center, I asked them to also service the car, two stones for the price of one, right? Wrong! Got the car back the same day and later that afternoon, I was about to go to perform one of those things I can no longer do on foot. Car would not start. What did these people do? Car was running absolutely fine before they got their wiry hands on it. Mechanics!

Next day as I was preparing to have the car towed to the service center, guess what? Car started! I was overjoyed. Drove the car for few days and all was well. Then Sunday, Palm Sunday no less, arrived and guess what? I was ready for church, ready to go and praise the Lord! Car would not start. Pouring rain outside. Would be impossible to get a cab. Stuck at home watching the church service online. I was MAD!! Nevertheless, I was able to put aside my mad feelings for the moment and get into worship and the Word. I decided that everything happens for a reason and there must be a reason that I was relegated to my house on this holy morning.

The next day which was Monday, I had the car towed to the service center and today is Wednesday and I am still waiting to get it back. They have no idea what they have done to the car. Devil is a liar! Good Friday and Easter Sunday is coming up and it looks like they might not have the answer before then. So, it is time to prepare a secondary plan. I have to dig back into my memory to a time when I did not have a car and when I did not know how to drive. I got around okay. I was able to move from point A to point B without much thought and deliberation. I was probably about 40 pounds lighter too. There is something to be said for life before the car. Why am I so dependent on this machine? Reminds me of my cellphone. If you haven’t checked out that poem, Cellphone, in my Audible book, “Just Sister Jackie: My First Collection of Poetic Observances”, make sure you show your support. Anyway, shameful plug but it is good stuff, along with the other poems. I digressed again. Focus.

Time to make those secondary plans, cause no devil in hell is going to stop me from getting to church on Good Friday or Easter Sunday with or without a car. I see people taking public transportation to church all of the time. Is their faith greater than mine? Nope. God was good to me before I had a car, He is good to me now that I have a car and he is still good to me while the car is in the hands of those mechanics. Lord, please be with the mechanic in the mechanic room. Show them the problem and give them insight on how to fix it. Regardless, I will meet you in church on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I will be the one at the altar giving you praise for reminding me that there was life before the car!