Not What I Expected

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control.  Against such things there is no law.”  Galatians 5:22-23

This last week I used a half day of vacation to stay home from work.  My home builder was scheduled to send out workmen to repair several items that were just not quite right.  I was expecting a carpet layer to come and fix the carpet in the living room where it had come loose on one side.  I was expecting a painter to come and fix a problem on a wall.  Finally, I was expecting a cabinet installer to come and either fix or replace one of my cabinet drawers.  I lay in bed a little longer that morning relishing the extra time to start my day.  I finished my breakfast expectantly, knowing the workmen could arrive anytime after 8am.  Soon it was mid-morning and none had arrived.  Then it was time to make lunch and still none had arrived.  I finally left for work at noon, with not one of the workmen arriving as promised.

Later in the week my car was at the auto detailer for a complete cleaning inside and out.  It is something that I get done once a year since I never have figured out how to properly wax a car.  The steam cleaning inside gets out all the dirt I get in when I am camping or just hauling things around.  I dropped my car off in the morning before work.  As the afternoon drew to a close I was looking forward to seeing it all clean and shiny again.  When I arrived to pick it up, the man in charge very directly reported that a piece of trim in the front seating area has been accidentally destroyed during steam cleaning.  I was disappointed that now two things had gone wrong during the week.

In both cases I had to make a decision about how to respond.  In the first case I felt like I had wasted four perfectly good hours of vacation time sitting at home waiting for workmen that never came.  I could have used that time to go hiking or visit family or take a vacation.  I had every right to be angry about the lack of respect for my valuable time.  In the second case I had a hard time understanding how simple steam cleaning could lead to a piece of broken trim.  The men cleaning my car just needed to show a little care and concern for what belonged to me.

I could have responded by getting mad, demanding to talk to a manger, and yelling a little until I got what I wanted in each situation.  I sure am glad that I didn’t do that.  I later received a phone call from my home builder apologizing profusely for the workmen never arriving.  He explained that he had written my work items in the wrong month on his calendar.  He rescheduled for one week in the future, and promised to call two days before to confirm.  What is more, he made an unsolicited offer to come and personally supervise the workmen scheduled to complete the repairs.  When I picked up my car, the man in charge showed me my clean car, and pointed out the broken part.  It was partially hidden and I probably wouldn’t have noticed for days or even weeks if he hadn’t mentioned it.  But he did mention it and without my asking, offered to order a replacement and get it to me within a week.

I must confess that I have become pretty jaded from all my past dealings with home builders, auto mechanics, travel agents, and salesmen.  I often go into a business transaction assuming the other person is trying to rip me off and make an extra buck for himself in the deal.  I am on high alert for anything that looks like me getting less than I deserve.  This last week was not like that at all.  To my shame, I was treated more than fairly as two different people did everything in their power to make it right when I got less than their best.  Next time I make a mistake or cause an accident I will have to try and follow their example.

[PhotoCredit:sparktography & iboy_daniel]