One of those days...

Yesterday morning I got an invitation to join some friends for dinner tonight. The inviter asked me for suggestions. Among my many suggestions was an Indian restaurant I have a coupon for. That place was chosen. Do you think I can lay my hands on that coupon anywhere?

One of the errands for the day was to wash the car I have been borrowing, as it will go back to the couple who loaned it to me this weekend. I had already been offered another car to use and had the keys, needed only to get a lift over to it. I asked a friend if she could run me over to the next car after I parked the current one in a safe spot near the church.

I felt I was a little behind schedule when I got to the car wash at about 2:PM. I had told my ride we could do the errand over her lunch break. When I saw the line-up of cars, I realized it would easily be a half hour wait. I rang my friend to alert her. I finally pulled into the car wash at 2:40. Right in the middle of the wash the lights on the signs all started blinking and then the whole thing went blank. I called my friend again and asked her to look up the number of that Holiday Station and call me back so I could let them know I was stuck in their car wash. My friend made the call for me and a few minutes later one of the employees came out to start it again. She told me, “Go ask the manager for a new code and you can go ahead of everyone and finish your wash.” The manager was kind enough to give a new code and coupon for a free wash. But they couldn’t get it going again. So after a full hour at that Holiday, I finally headed over to park this car and get to my ride to get the other one. All the time hoping that since it was never dried, it wouldn’t freeze shut.

From there is just continued in the same vein. The next car I went to pick up was dead. Another friend I had told I would watch her kids for an hour so she could leave to a meeting before her husband got home, I forgot about and if she hadn’t called I would never have gotten there.

The great thing about the day was that absolutely everything could have been worse. I had a cell phone to call someone for the belly of the car wash. So I got out! I had a lift back from the dead car and the one that went through the car wash didn’t freeze shut. I still got to go out with friends for dinner at a nice Indian restaurant even if I paid for it. The friend whose kids I was watching got to her meeting on time.

This morning I read Romans chapter 8. It struck me afresh that there is absolutely nothing that can separate me from the love of God. Nothing. It’s there. I don’t deserve it, but I have it. It won’t change, ever. Not a single thing that happens in this fallen world will ever separate me from God’s love.