THE AMAZING OTHER SIDE OF THE SAD STORY..
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
A week or so ago, I posted a gripe about the area I’m living in and the all too commonplace lack of professionalism.. how my car sat at a body shop and was not repaired.. and how FOUR local contractors either failed to show up, or cancelled last minute. WELL.. SWELL.. Bless God - As always, it all WORKED TOGETHER FOR GOOD!
A Romans 8:28 redux.. We hit the ‘grind’, but like the stones that buffet rocks till they sparkle like diamonds, we came out shining… again.
First the contractors..
2 had already let us down, so I scheduled not one, but TWO for the following Tuesday. One cancelled the day before said he threw his back out. The other WE cancelled when he didn’t show up for a previous appointment.. (He texted me hours after the set time to say, “I got busy with my grandchildren. Can we do it Monday at 8am?’. I said thanks but no thanks.)
Exasperated, I left a message for Vito, the handyman that has helped us for 6 years here, asking him for a referral. (I thought he said he couldn’t do the floor install).
He texted me back that HE WOULD do the job. (He had needed to go to Florida for 2 weeks to visit his daughter and was back. yea!)
Not ONLY did Vito do a spectacular job installing the floor... I recommended him on social media in my area.. and got TWENTY ladies begging for his number. (Half of them said.. ‘I hired someone and they didn’t show up’.) HAHA! Vito’s going to be really busy.
CAR DEAL of the CENTURY
My insurance company (Geico) told me they were going to ‘total’ my car - a perfectly functioning Honda that we’ve meticulously maintained for the 10 years we’ve owned it. On account of a rear end dent that we sustained in a grocery store parking lot while parked.
They said they’d give us the value of the car, and we’d keep the car. I balked. I wanted the dent gone.
Geico asked for receipts for repairs and whatnot, so we sent receipts overshowing all repairs and many upgrades the vehicle has. It was the top of the line in 2007. (It was working great - Why replace it? Frugal is best).
Geico reviewed the receipts and emailed me.. “OK! Looks good! We’ll have it fixed’. That was in early March..
March dragged on with no word from their assigned body shop. Finally, with our car sitting there nearly 3 weeks, I rang the shop up. The call was like… ‘When can I get my car? … You mean it’s not fixed?? …. You mean you didn’t even start it?
The obviously very young lady said to me'.. “Geico wanted to total the car’. I told her that 3 weeks ago they’d changed their mind on that point. She said -’Well, we haven’t heard from them”.. I’m like… Did you try CALLING them?
Her flippant reply- “You can call them’. I was flabbergasted and speechlessly.. hung up.
Geico, (I called them) was not much help. They said they’d call the shop and have them start the car right away. I said ‘Thanks but no thanks’. (I find myself saying that a lot up here). “I no longer trust them’. adding “I’ll let you give me the estimated repair cost and I’ll have it fixed elsewhere.”
They started to negotiate with me about whether to just total my car (for a fender dent??).. I said ‘WE ALREADY HAD THIS SONG AND DANCE 3 WEEKS AGO’. “I NEED MY CAR BACK”. So they offered me $2,200 to take or fix my car elsewhere.
So I said to the guy.. SO you were going to TOTAL my car that YOU said was worth $4,800 over a repair that now you wish to tell me will cost $2200? I said ‘I need my car back. I’ll take your offer of the value of the car and walk’. He said they could only give me $2200 but he’d talk to his manager.
I’ll spare you the tedious details of yet one more conversation with this manager… It ended with Geico sending me an instant deposit of $3300, and me picking up my car.. »that the shop had rushed to start fixing.. till Geico told them to stop.
So I have my car,
A check,
And the dent is gone.
This is what some call, having your cake and eating it too.
That was God’s answer. Blessed are those who wait on Him. Bless His heart.
VJCB