Putting Things in Perspective

I've always believed that God has a plan for us. Sometimes that plan is so very crystal clear and laid out in front of us. Other times, if you are anything like me, you find yourself wandering through the darkness hoping that you are headed in the right direction. Fortunately, He often shows us some little glimpses of light along the way to help us stay on the path.

"Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul." - Psalm 143:8

Yesterday I picked up my rental car from Enterprise so that my car could be repaired at the shop. The Enterprise staff was kind, courteous and helpful - even making sure to send someone who knew how to install a car seat out to pick me up at the house. However, a gentleman came storming into the office while we were waiting to finalize paperwork yelling and screaming about terrible customer service and being treated with a lack of respect. I don't know all the details of his complaints (mostly because I chose to focus my attention on John and staying out of this gentleman way for fear of being crushed in his wake), but I couldn't help to think that you get so much further with honey than vinegar. We left Enterprise with a Dodge Nitro, John's car seat installed, and many thank you's for being so patient and polite. It really begs the question - Do more people than not walk in hot headed and disrespectful? I didn't think we were acting particularly out of the ordinary (at least not for my family), but the Enterprise staff seemed extremely grateful.

Later in the morning we headed to an appointment over in St. Louis. As we were driving we encountered some traffic, but kept trekking along slowly and eventually saw the accident that had caused the back-up on the bridge. As we drove past there were 3 ambulances, 3 police cars, a Department of Transportation traffic vehicle, and 2 tow trucks. An SUV was smashed to smithereens and a semi-truck was jack-knifed and looked as though the cab was probably now out of commission as well. I didn't notice the driver of either vehicle as far as I could tell, but there was a police officer standing off to the side of the accident near the SUV holding a small girl who could have been more than 2 or 3 years old. All I could think was "Man, our accident could have been so much worse! Thank God for watching over us!"

So - I'm asking the few of you who read the blog on a quasi-regular basis to say prayers for the gentleman at Enterprise who was clearly in distress, the drivers involved in the accident on the bridge and little girl who looked so lost in the police officers arms. I'm sure they could all use a few extra people who believe God has a plan and eventually He'll put things in perspective for us.