Yesterday I made the long drive into our old stomping grounds in Round Rock. Oh! It was so nostalgic to drive the streets where we used to live! The familiar sights flooded my mind with fond memories. We really loved that town and were happy to have a chance to revisit. We had a full day of errands ahead of us.
We dropped off our van at the Toyota service center. We've had a couple of problems with our van and wanted to check it out in the hopes that the repairs might be covered by our warranty. The electrical system was having issues, and so was the fuel tank. There was a $112 diagnostics fee, but the if the repairs were covered by warranty then we wouldn't have to pay anything. It was a bit of a gamble, since we had to have a mechanic diagnose the problem before we could find out if it was even going to be covered.
I was not interested in hanging out with four children in a tiny repair shop waiting room, so we loaded up a stroller and walked a couple of blocks to the local movie theater. I thought it was such a clever idea to pass our time watching a movie rather than being bored in a sterile waiting room. I also thought it would reflect better for the repair shop to NOT have several energetic or noisy children mingling with a dozen other customers.
We met up with some dear friends (fondly called the Herdpeople) from our previous congregation and enjoyed a movie together. It was SO delightful to catch up on each others' lives and share joy in our accomplishments over the past two years. I love the special kinship that is forged between sisters in Christ. It was such a special time for us.
After the movie, we returned to the service center to get a status update on the van. The receptionist located our vehicle, and it was waiting in a parking lot. What?! I asked why on earth it wasn't in the shop, and she explained that they have a unique way of prioritizing their work. Owners who wait onsite get their vehicles serviced before owners who just drop off a vehicle. They estimated that I had a 5 hour wait time left.
Oh, I was sorely disappointed to hear this. I had just wasted two hours attending a theater, and we don't usually splurge to go to movies. I related the news to Teresa (who had driven us over to the shop from the theater) as I climbed into her vehicle.
As we began to drive away, and she said, "You know, that is really bad customer service if they didn't inform you upfront that dropping off a vehicle would increase wait times. You drove an hour just to get here in the first place, and you have four children with you. You were being thoughtful by taking your children off-site. Now two hours of your time is wasted, and the money you wouldn't have normally spent at the theater is also wasted. This isn't right and they shouldn't treat you like that. You should go talk to a manager and ask them to bump your vehicle to the front of the line."
I agreed with her, so we flipped a U-turn and drove back to the shop. I did speak with the manager.
For 30 minutes, actually.
He was very nice about it all and apologized for the inconvenience. He also offered to waive our diagnostics fee even if we didn't choose to have the repairs done. I didn't expect that offer at all, and expressed my sincere gratitude for his kindness. Our van had been moved to the shop and was being looked at while we spoke, so there was no forecast yet of the repair costs.
I assured him that we only wanted the repairs done if they were covered by the warranty and asked him to call and confirm any work orders before executing them, then departed.
Two hours later I was notified that our van was ready. That was much faster than I expected, so I assumed they had found the problems and not done the work. When I arrived to pick up our keys, I was directed to the managers office again.
After welcoming me back, he shared the discovery of our problems. The electrical panel needed to be replaced, and that would cost a whopping $800 for just the parts. The fuel tank had a foreign object in it that needed to be removed, and that work was priced at just above $100.
The bad news was that our warranty had just recently expired, and these services were no longer covered.
With a resigned heart, I thanked him for the diagnosis and tried to explain that we would not be having the repairs made. Before I could say more than two words, he said that they had already done the work and the van was in perfect order again.
Oh my.
Luckily my jaw didn't hit the ground, but my heart did skip a beat. My mind was racing a bit wondering why on earth they hadn't called me to confirm any work orders. How could they have possibly misunderstood my directions?
My mind ran through a priority list of where I would have much rather spent $1000: Sarah's orthodontic work, or repairing our garage, or replacing our ancient AC unit who has been struggling on its last legs for 2 years now.
Before I could say anything, he smiled and said, "Don't worry. We are taking care of everything. We called the Toyota headquarters and received a new free part for your electrical system. And I'll take care of paying the mechanics for their time. We wanted you to know that we value you as a customer and want to take care of you. We apologize for the misunderstandings this morning and really wanted to make things right. We really felt like helping your family."
I couldn't help myself. I quietly teared up as I tried to express my sincere appreciation for his generosity. I never ever expected something like this to happen. I felt so humble and so grateful.
After wiping my eyes, I spoke. "I don't know if you are a religious person or not, but I want you to know that you answered my prayers today. I have been praying over our finances and our vehicle repairs. I can't tell you enough how thankful I am for your generosity!"
The managers eyes were wet, and he said, "I am a very religious person. I pray every day and I felt like the Lord wanted me to bless your family in this way today. I am touched to know that this service answered a prayer. Thank you for sharing that with me, and may God continue to bless you."
I felt the Spirit there, in the mechanics shop, and both of our hearts were touched.
I thanked him profusely as I exited the building and collected my van. My van was even freshly washed, so it looked like new.
(That's not quite the end. There is another part to this story.)
When I returned to my children, I asked them, "Do you remember when we worked so hard on the Fourth of July and made a lot of money? Do you remember how I felt like I should donate a lot of it to the Lord to use in helping His hungry children in other countries? Do you remember talking about how hard that was for me and how tempted I was to keep it and use it for our house repairs or our summer vacation costs?"
Three heads nodded quietly in the backseat.
"Heavenly Father has truly blessed us with more than we gave Him! The prophet Malachi says, "Prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive it." This verse was perfectly illustrated in our lives today. The Lord worked a miracle and blessed us with repairs that cost more than the amount I donated to Him. This is a perfect example of His promise. When we give anything to the Lord, he always blesses us with more than we had in the first place."
I bore my testimony that I knew the Lord was watching over us and was pleased that we shared our material blessings with others who were struggling to survive. I testified that He was aware of our needs, and was able to use another righteous person to answer our prayers. I shared my gratitude for the manager, and emphasized how important it is for us to be in tune to the Holy Spirit so we can be instruments in the Lords hands in answering prayers of people around us.
It was a beautiful and powerful teaching moment for my children. I am still humbled by this marvelous gift.
The Lord is so generous with us in so many ways. I feel keenly my inadequacy and don't feel like I truly deserved this gift.
I hope to be worthy of these blessings as I strive once again to be a better person.
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