"Passionately Seeking & Speaking the Love of Jesus"
Dateline: Minneapolis
Over the past 2 years our vehicles have had to visit several body shops for repair. High winds threw tree branches, a combination of sub zero temperatures and a stubborn car hood, and an errant tire rolling off the back of a tow truck on Lake Street have caused a variety of dings, dents, and damage. Through mere chance I found a shop that operates in a very 20th century manner. I cannot give an endorsement for this shop because, as far as I know, it has no name. It just has a generic sign that says "auto body repair" displayed above the front door.
When you use this particular shop a man will come out, look at your car, give a price quote (which is around 1/2 the cost you have previously heard from every other shop), and tell you what day to drop the car off (he once told me "bring it back when the snow melts"). When the drop off day comes, the man you spoke to may or may not be there. You simply leave your keys with anyone who is and he writes your phone # on any piece of scrap paper he can find about the shop.... No invoices, no computers, no text message updates, no online tracking, nothing. In this day and age of "personal security" it seems quite odd to simply trust someone. Matter of fact, it is hard to trust someone.
So, you head home and wait for the call. All the while wondering, "Are these guys going to steal my car," "Will they ask for more money than the estimate they gave me weeks ago," "Why was the owner asleep in his chair when I got there, " etc.
Then the call comes, the price has not changed, and your car is fixed. All your worry was for naught. You just needed to trust someone.
In this world today. Where every day seems to bring more tragedy, uncertainty, and fear. When we find ourselves hoping that someone will fix it... When we search for security and a voice to tell us, "Everything is going to be alright." When we are plagued, disturbed, and worn out by questions about our future- Simply.Trust. God.
I had a long talk with the owner after my third visit to the shop. Turns out he is able to keep costs down by doing things the old fashioned way. So it appears to me that our sense of security can be quite costly. All that paperwork, online tracking, and other bells and whistles don't come cheap. The security of your soul didn't come cheap either. Simply. Trust. God.
