Resistance

Last week I was driving on the freeway to get to a meeting. In an attempt to avoid an accident, I drove over half of a tire that was in my lane and then said some swear words as I exited the freeway.

Praying that the tire had not caused too much damage to my undercarriage (probably could have prayed for forgiveness for swearing), I continued on my way to my appointment. At first there seemed to be nothing wrong with my car. However, it soon started to bounce slightly as I continued down the road. My vehicle is equipped with air-bag suspension, and having had previous experience with this type of suspension being damaged, I knew that something was wrong. Since I was almost to my appointment, I decided to wait until afterward to assess the damage.

An hour and a half later, I came back and noticed that the entire rear end of my car was noticeably lower. I was right - the air-bags had been damaged. I was about 15 miles away from my apartment, with no other way of getting home and only an hour until my girls needed to be picked up from school.

(This is not my car, but it is exactly what it looked like. 

People actually do this to their cars on purpose?)

I'm not gonna lie - I was pretty stressed out. My insurance company said there was nothing they could do since I only have liability coverage. The mechanic I called wanted to charge $100 just to look at it. Driving at 25 mph kept the bouncing to a minimum, but the problem needed to be fixed.

This is what we like to call "Resistance". Here you are, living your life, trying to do good things, and all of a sudden CRAP HAPPENS.

What do you do when Resistance shows up in your life? Sometimes we think, "Well, this really difficult circumstance happened, so that must mean _____."

Does it mean that I should be angry?
Does it mean that I should give up?
Does it mean that I must be making the wrong choice?

It means whatever you choose to make it mean.

So, after I spent some time fretting and complaining, I decided to look at other options. Thankfully, I have an amazing boyfriend and a fantastic dad, who both know a lot about cars. They were able to collaborate over the phone and figure out a couple of options. I parked the car at my apartment and rented a car, expecting that I'd need to do so for at least a week. We ordered a conversion kit to give the car normal spring coil suspension, in case the air bags were damaged. Thanks to my boyfriend we got an AMAZING deal online for that kit.

As luck would have it, my parents were actually flying to AZ to visit me that weekend. Without being asked, Dad brought his grubby clothes and as soon as we got to my apartment he climbed under the car, examined the problem, and was able to fix it. I was able to return the rental car that afternoon, which saved me a ton of money. We can still do the conversion to regular suspension when we are ready, but in the meantime my car is fixed.

When Resistance shows up, instead of blaming, getting mad, or giving up, it usually helps more to ask: What can be learned from this experience? What blessings can I see in the middle of this problem?

For me, in this situation, I got to learn more about my boyfriend and how he handles problems. He was very level-headed, selfless, and altruistic in the face of a big problem. I got to learn more about my dad, who exhibited all of those qualities as well, as he has my whole life. They got to meet each other and find out that they have many things in common. Even though it was a big problem, it was fixed with minimal cost, time, and stress. The situation could have been much worse.

So, today I am thankful for learning experiences that seem like trials, and for opportunities to grow. I'm thankful for the great support network in my life. I'm thankful for blessings that come in the form of adversity.

Incidentally, I'm also thankful for the opportunity to learn through joyful, abundant, peaceful experiences and welcome more of those into my life!