Two posts in one day! I know, it seems odd but I couldn't go the day without sharing my most excellent praise report!
Our beloved, ferocious, protective dog loves to go in the car. He loves the wind in his face, the excitement of the ride - I do drive a pretty mean car! - and the time spent with me. I have taken my dog on many a car ride and have left him in the car unattended for well over 1/2 an hour, a time or two. I will speak of a particular time on April 7th when my friend begged me to let the dog come for a ride to the store to buy a broom. I didn't really want to take him but she insisted, so off we went to Zehrs. We parked, got out, locked the door and started to walk in when Gromit decides he's going to cry... he whines and cries and I laughed because he's never pulled that stunt before. We keep on, knowing we'll only be a few moments. After all, we're just here for a broom! Bought the broom, came back out and not 5 minutes had passed. We all piled in the car and drove on home, happy dog in the back.
The next day while I was searching the car for laundry - doesn't everyone have laundry in their car??? - I noticed something that made me sick. My dog must've been VERY distressed... he must've been VERY angry... he must've had a pair of scissors in the back seat!!! He had chewed through TWO of the shoulder straps in the back seat!!!
I screamed.
I screamed a lot.
I am sure all the dog heard was "BLAH! BLAHBLAHBLAHBLAH! BLAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Fast forward to yesterday. I am finally calling the dealer to find out how much it's going to cost to replace the strap. I'm assuming it can't cost more than $100, can it? I can't imagine.
I get John on the phone.
John is telling me I can't replace just the straps.
John says I have to replace the entire mechanism.
John is telling me it's going to cost $387 EACH.
John says that doesn't include labor!
OH LORD... (literally...) This knocks the wind out of my sails! I don't have the money in my emergency fund for this! I've already used some of my emergency money to buy drywall and a shower stall! I can't afford this!
I call the 4 wreckers John tells me to try and no one has anything to tell me. One man says they crush the car with the back seatbelt mechanism's in them because they don't sell SMALL PARTS.
I am sitting on my couch. I think to myself, "what if I call my insurance broker? I am sure they won't cover it, but if I don't ask, I'll never know."
So I pick up my phone and call Terry. She laughs when she hears what my *%&&$^# dog has done and says she hasn't heard of anyone putting through a claim like mine but she'll call the company and see what they say. She's going to call me back.
I hang up and put my head in my hands.
"Lord, I can't afford this. I can't deal with this. You're going to have to deal with this. Please, Lord... deal with this for me. I can't do this on my own. Please take care of this."
Terry calls back.
She says, "they're going to cover the charges."
I feel like screaming!
So, this means I'll have to pay the $500 deductible, right? ($500 is better than $900!)
She says, "no, it's not a collision so you'll be taking this out of your comprehensible. You'll only have to pay $100 after the work is complete."
GOD IS AMAZING! I am SO grateful to my God for taking over in this situation and for revealing to me that He IS there, and He IS working in my life. Praise, praise, PRAISE!
Matthew 7:7-11
"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn't a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing. You're at least decent to your own children. So don't you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?
