Warning Lights, True and False

Early yesterday morning as I was driving to work, I noticed the oil light come on. I checked the little sticker at the top left of my windshield and noticed I was a bit overdue for an oil change. The oil light has never come on before, so it seemed a little strange. I ran an errand at lunch, and that light made me pretty nervous. Being a princess who expects her men to take care of guy things, I texted Nick to stop by and check my oil after school. He found it to be low and put in a quart, and I scheduled an oil change for the next afternoon.

I started getting my oil changed at Pacific Auto four years ago after we returned from our summer vacation, which included getting rear-ended by a city bus in Wyoming on our way to Yellowstone. They fixed the bumper and trunk and changed the oil. They are friendly, efficient, reasonably priced, and don't bug you with five other things your car needs like the oil change places.

So as I was driving home after work, the oil light was making me pretty nervous. Now there was not just one light, but another warning light that I couldn't identify. And was that a rattle I was hearing? Maybe it was in the dash, or the glove box? No, it got louder. It was coming from the engine and growing more alarming by the minute. The car behind me was tailgating me, and I realized I was losing speed. By the grace of God I was able to get out of the center lane into the right lane and make a right hand turn off the highway onto a lesser traveled road. The car died and I lost my power steering as I turned, but I was able to pull off onto the shoulder.

I called my trusty husband and waited for him to come rescue me. He looked under the hood and we saw that oil had leaked all over the place. He called our good friend Bruce Heilman, who knows everything about cars and mechanics, and he recommended a mechanic just down the road. I had just enough time to transfer my important stuff from the trunk and vehicle into Will's pickup before the mechanic and his tow truck showed up and hauled my car away.

You know how they say you should always wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident and end up in the emergency room? Why doesn't anyone ever tell you to keep your car clean in case it breaks down and has to go to the vehicle emergency room? Oh well, I finally got the file folder with the notes I used to speak at the Ladies Tea about a month ago out of the car. I tend to store more things in my car than I really should. I must improve. But I digress.

After dinner, Will got a call from the mechanic, and my heart pounded with dread as I listened to his side of the conversation. The news was bad. The oil had run dry, and the engine needed to be replaced. But interestingly, it appeared the oil filter had come loose. Quite unusual. Furthermore, the oil filter was not the correct one that belonged in my vehicle. Hmmmm.

The thought of paying thousands of dollars for an engine replacement was quite troubling. I was kicking myself for not calling Will before leaving work and telling him the car problems instead of just expecting it to be fine. But fortunately, I had supported a friend's fundraiser and bought a box of Krispy Kreme donuts that day, and a warm donut fortified me enough to go to bed fairly untroubled - or at least not totally disturbed and freaked out. I placed it in the hands of God and the wonderful husband he gave me.

Will finally called me around 11 this morning to give me the results of the activities of himself and his sidekick Bruce. They had met with the mechanic, got the errant oil filter, and visited Pacific Auto to talk to the owner. As a result, my Camry was now at Pacific Auto where they are replacing the engine at no charge to us. Pacific Auto also arranged for a rental car for me.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it!!! I am still amazed. God is so good!

Nick picked me up after work to get the rental car. I was led to a pretty little Chevy Malibu, but when I got in and was about to drive away, I couldn't believe my eyes. There on the dash in big blue letters was the warning, "CHANGE OIL SOON"!! I headed back in there to advise them, but they assured me the oil was fine, the warning always comes on prematurely. Strangely, in 24 hours time I had gone from blithely trusting that bad things don't happen to my car to expecting bad things to happen to my car!

This Chevy was just as irresistibly drawn to the flowers at the Country Barn as my Camry is. On my way there, I stopped by the Shell station to show off the car to Eric and received another amazing blessing. For the first time in many months, dare I say even years?, I got to see Eric's face clean shaven. No beard, no mustache, no sideburns, no goatee,no strange new configurations or combinations of facial hair. Just a beautiful face. And me with no camera in this naked rental car. And I expect by the time I see him again on Sunday, the facial hair will be growing again. Oh well. I put the car in gear as I was saying goodbye to him and he said, "Wait, I better tell you something. The car is in Neutral." I looked down and sure enough it was. Eric said, "I really wanted to hear you rev it up but I figured I better tell you so you didn't scare yourself and the other people here." Like he thinks I was going to step on it and peel out of there? Oh well, it was nice to be reminded he is not only good looking but very thoughtful as well.

The day continued to get better. As Will and I were out on our beautiful patio discussing the day and how thankful we were for the great customer service he received, I was about to broach the subject of having a late dinner because I wanted to plant the new flowers before dinner. Just then Craig showed up and volunteered to cook. He made some awesome beef stroganoff and green beans with garlic.

All my flowers are planted, my car will undoubtedly be returned to me vacuumed and washed, my husband, boys, and friend Bruce all did kind and helpful things for me today. I am so grateful for all of them and all the blessings this day brought!

And maybe the sun will shine for more than 10 minutes tomorrow! I continue to hope for the best in all of life!