The Best Car Cleaner

Do you know of any? Wish we did. Sunday morning we walked out of the house into a warm sunny day, birds chirping, and a soft breeze blowing. Suddenly, as we reached the driveway, hubby paused and with a calm, cautious, and calculated pitch said, “That’s interesting.”

In the thirty two years I’ve known him, when that tone slips from his lips, there’s something wrong.

Unable to see for obvious reasons, curiosity pricked at me. So my eager questions blurted faster than the myriad of possibilities that flooded my mind.

Did someone take our car? Slash the tires? Egg the car? None is a routine occurrence in our quiet neighborhood, but the possibilities still exist.

“There are brown globs all over,” he said with a puzzled tone. “On the windshield, the hood, the roof, the sides.”

“Who could have splattered mud in such a nasty way?” On the way to church, we tossed ideas of the cause, the source, or the identity of that yucky matter on our nice, white car.

It wasn’t until on the way out of church that a friend said after a hearty chuckle, “Birds. They did that.”

Those must be enormous creatures, I thought. We sped off to the nearest car wash and with one powerful spray of water jets the car was once again clean.

I was so grateful, not so much for the way the situation was resolved, but because once again, hubby’s calm demeanor blessed my life.

At the initial sight of the spotted car, he could’ve turned irate or planned retaliation, or even allowed that incident to ruin his day. Instead, he controlled his reaction, measured his words and held back any trace of anger. Could it be that he read the following Scripture verse: “He who has knowledge spares his words, and a man of understanding is of a calm spirit. Even a fool is counted wise when he holds his peace” (Proverbs 17:27-28).

The unpleasant situation Sunday morning had nothing to do with a cleaner for the car. Rather, it had to do with the spotless way in which we measure our words, reactions, and responses to unwelcome situations.

Goodness, God uses even birds to test our commitment to His Word.

Janet (who’s hoping you pass the tests that pop up unexpectedly)

I’d love your comments, just send them to: jeckles@cfl.rr.com.



Janet Perez Eckles
www.janetperezeckles.com

“Life is not about what you cannot do because of circumstances out of your control. Success comes when you recognize what you can do with what God has given you.”

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