I wish I knew more about cars.

I found myself despairing in my utter lack of auto-mechanic knowledge this weekend as I sat in my broken-down car on the side of a two-lane highway. This highway connects me in Phoenix to my family in Las Vegas; the car in question is my (once) trusty 2007 Jeep Compass, a car that has been across the United States twice and has seen me graduate high school. To say I was frustrated that she had disrupted my plans for a peaceful weekend is an understatement. She had not only failed me in the desert but also in a perfect spot where I had no cell service and thus no way of knowing what to do with my car.

Fortunately, I was able to get myself to a place where I had enough service to call my brother at 7:45 a.m on a weekend (I was in a bit of hysteria, and his sleepy brain had trouble at first translating my crying into coherent words). Unfortunately, he involved my dad in the conversation. My purpose for driving home this weekend was to surprise my dad for his birthday. Instead, my birthday present to him was having him pick up his stranded daughter an hour and a half away from where we live. Happy birthday...?

My plans had changed and I could not have done anything about it. My car breaking down was not my fault, and neither was my dad's birthday surprise going haywire. Where I was at fault was dwelling the rest of the day on how horribly this whole event had gone. I mean, I still got to see my family, spend my dad's birthday with him, and survive an hour riding in a tow truck. That should have been the best weekend ever, right? Wrong. I had planned this perfect surprise that was ruined by my car, an object that was out of my control. I tend to be a person who thrives when I am in charge, and this was one of those situations when my control was literally thrown out the car window and had no impact on bettering the scenario.

This happens all the time in life. We think we have control, and just when everything is going right, a left turn gets thrown our way. I was in control of my car for one minute, and the next minute my car could only accelerate to ten miles an hour at most. I was physically stuck in my situation. For some people, it may be a financial crisis they cannot escape, or it might just be a situation where the only option to move forward is to be flexible when we do not want to.

Flexibility requires trusting in the unknown. This sounds like something from a fairy tale, as if the next path through the dark forest may lead to a showdown with a fire-breathing dragon. Trust me, flexibility is not an easy trait to learn. My brother is extremely flexible, both in the literal and figurative senses. He can do the splits better than I can, and he is great at trying again with a different plan when the first plan falls through. I, on the other hand, struggle with change. I hate when things go a different direction than I had planned especially when other people are involved.

My flexibility cannot come from myself. My human instinct is to throw a tantrum because life is unfair and I did not ask for this to happen to me. This is where God steps in. He takes my impatience and my discontent and my inflexibility, and He changes it with His grace; I am transformed by Him. Because of Him, I can trust in the future no matter what craziness is happening in the present. My hope lies in His Word:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

Obviously, I am not happy with the whole car scenario, but I needed this lesson. I needed to learn that no matter how much planning goes into an event, things change, and I need to be okay with that. I learn to improvise and make do with what I have; I remain flexible because I trust that God is taking care of me. I had to move on from my car breaking down because I knew that I could not have changed what occurred. I took a deep breath, wiped away my angry tears, and drove my car another twenty-five miles before reaching a gas station, where I called the tow-truck company. Nine hours after I had left GCU's campus, I walked through my garage door and was greeted by my dogs, who shared some much-needed puppy love.

Being flexible requires a great deal of patience and trusting that God knows best. Even when we lose control, He remains in control. We can know that whatever comes our way next, He will be with us. The next time your car breaks down and you have no service, remember to climb a nearby hill to get better service. Remember to read your car manual so you know what that angry, red flashing light means. Most importantly, remember that God is in control of this situation. It is okay, though, if you need to cry a little.