I should be used to it by now, my husband being annoyed with me!

But after 33 years, I still don’t like it.  I want him to view me as perfect. Trouble is, I’m a woman and I think like one.  The other day we took my car, the one with 118,000 miles on it, to do errands because Mike was going to run it through the car wash.  I had mentioned to him that on our way home, I’d like to go up Rosemount Drive near our house.  Some ladies at the ‘Balsam Babes Breakfast’ (annual summer highlight for a rural mountain hamlet in Western NC) had intrigued me with the story of a cross “just up” the 4 mile road commemorating the life of a Florida man’s daughter.

Seemed like a simple thing: just drive to the top of Rosemount.

I haven’t learned to decipher the Western North Carolinian language.  “It’s at the top of Rosemount” did not mean what I thought it did. In the clean car, we drove off the county-maintained paved road onto gravel, going higher and higher.  We also drove past Mike’s normal point of patience as he maneuvered the car round ever numerous turns.  That’s when he noticed the whining sound connected to the steering.

“Sounds like the transmission is going; climbing this hill isn’t good for the car; hear that whiny noise?” he glowered at me with a growl.

“Oh that?  I heard the same grinding and whining along the flat part of Interstate 40 last month when we convoyed from Newport News!”

After that ‘calming’ explanation, I sandwiched in apologies for leading him on a wild-goose chase.  I was doing my best to empathize with and soften his annoyance.  Did I tell you I don’t like it when he’s annoyed with me?

I continued, “You know, I have to drive to South Carolina on Sunday to catch my flight to the Dallas conference, do you think I’ll make it okay?”

“Hope so…..” he lobbed his annoyance back on my side of the court.

Mike, I’m really sorry…you paid $20 to have my car thoroughly cleaned.  I’d be annoyed too!

**

I won’t relate the rest of the conversation.  We never did find that cross…  I learned not to assume I understand Appalachian directions…..and Mike did some private talking to God later on his daily walk.  But, here’s what GOD did!

Because Mike HEARD a noise that was NOT good, we looked up transmissions on the internet and I called a local place and prayerfully made plans to take the car in on Thursday.   Transmission repairs or replacements are costly and we are vulnerable when it comes to knowing whom we can trust in a new community.  God provided!  The transmission guy quickly determined it was probably a power steering problem and referred me to a local mechanic up the road. (I pinned him down and rehearsed the verbal directions to my satisfaction!)

This mechanic turned out to be a Christian AND honest.  He ordered the part; I brought the car BACK to him on Friday and he fixed it.  Not only was my car prepared to make the drive to the Greenville/Spartanburg airport today, we found an honest local mechanic who can work on both our cars in the future.

Had I NOT led us on a wild goose chase; had Mike NOT been annoyed with the vague directions, the gravel dust and then the whiny sound, we would not have been blessed in such significant ways.

God DOES use all things to the good of those who are His, even annoyance. Why should I be bothered by the very natural reaction of a man living with a woman who doesn’t always think or communicate like he does?  Furthermore, why should we expect to live annoyance-free lives?

Here’s to God’s promise to… “cause all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28)