The Car Locked Me Out

January 28-29, 2008

The car locked me out. It is nice that in Spanish you can put the blame on the car instead of oneself and it sounds a little better than in English (At least if I remember the grammar correctly). I thought that this week was off to a better start since everything yesterday went smoothly. But this morning (Monday), events changed that. My plan was to run to a hardware store and price some equipment that I still need for the ropes course in order to know whether to buy it here or have my uncle bring it down in a few weeks. Well, I carried a few things to the car and popped the hood so I could check the oil. I do not remember closing the door (and it was only partly closed) but when I returned to open the back door, it was locked. Fear set in as I realized that my keys were not on me. No, they were sitting on the front seat. It is so rare that my car will actually lock automatically that I generally do not worry about locking the keys inside, but for some reason it decided to lock itself today. (And for this reason I chose the opening sentence).

I stood in disbelief for a few moments because it was just too much. After a week of getting nothing done because of long meetings, continual delays, changes to schedules, sickness, power outages and waiting I could not believe yet another problem was in front of me. Well, I could believe it, but I did not want to. After talking with Joy (whose house I am still at because I am still waiting to sign for an apartment), I was reminded that perhaps it was not safe for me to be on the road to camp when I had planned and so God was slowing me down. Quite possible though I also know that Satan likes to discourage us and that was all I needed – one more thing go wrong. I decided that I needed to vent by going for a run and having some time to talk to God which I did and it helped a little. I do not usually run in the city but I took to the streets anyway. When Joy’s husband Mark returned home after four hours of standing in line, he brought out his tool for breaking into cars. (I had chosen a bad day to lock my keys in the car because he also had a migraine). We soon discovered that it is not so easy to break into my car. I feel quite good about its security now, even when it has to sit unattended on a street. Because of the tinting I had to watch from the other side of the car to tell him when the lock was jiggling. After probably half an hour, he found the right point and with much strain, popped the lock at which point the alarm took over.

I eventually got to the store and late afternoon left for camp. When I reached Pinalejo, I looked up a nurse there to see if I could get my allergy injection which has been overdue. The nurse has been caring for her neighbor who is dying of cancer so I was not sure whether she would have time to give me the shot. She did so I stayed there for the allotted time needed for assuring I would not have a reaction. I ended up talking with the nurse though and soon it was well past dark. Even though the camp is only a few miles up the mountain we decided I should maybe just stay at her house till morning. Considering that there was no electric in the town or at camp, I did not mind staying where a generator provided light. I was also there to stay with her children if she had to go next door during the night. And so although I was disappointed at not being able to visit with the staff at camp that evening, I was thankful to be safe and get a few things like laundry done. It is now Tuesday evening and other than a cold, things are definitely going better. I am praying that this week will be a little smoother and more productive than last and most important that I will have a better attitude no matter what the circumstances.