The AutoZone Angel

The dreaded check engine light came on just as my car was up for inspection.

Oh no. I don’t have time for this. I hope I don’t need a new car. I hope it’s not an expensive fix.

My mind was racing to all the worst thoughts, which my therapist says is catastrophizing.

Catastrophizing is a not-so-helpful way of thinking where your mind takes a problem and jumps to the worst possible outcome. It’s often because a person is used to bad things happening.

Thanks to my Christian therapist, I’ve learned to stop in those moments, pray, and think on the best-case scenario. It’s probably an easy fix. It’s going to be okay. Honestly, sometimes it works more than others.

But I did sit in my car at a red light talking to God.

“God, You know my check engine light is on. I know You love me. I know You’ll take care of me. Even if I need a new car, I know somehow, someway, You will make a way.”

I drove to the nearest mechanic, where he plugged in a little device to my car. He said, “It’s your airflow sensor. It needs to be cleaned or replaced, and it will cost about $170.”

Thank God, I thought! It’s not going to cost me thousands.

He said he was booked but would work on getting me an appointment in the weeks to come.

Okay, I’ll wait.

Ha. I’m not the best at waiting, so I took to YouTube University. I searched for videos on how to clean an airflow sensor, and as I watched, I thought, I think I could do this.

Now, what you gotta know about me is I’m not a cut-the-yard, pop-the-hood-on-a-car kinda girl. Absolutely not!

But I am a let’s-save-$170-bucks kinda girl.

So I got up all the courage I could to walk into a store I never go into: the nearby AutoZone.

Just walking in, I could feel my heart beating just a bit faster. 

I have no idea what I’m doing, I thought to myself.

I walked in and smelled the vehicle stuff in the air. I walked up to the counter, where a guy in a red shirt smiled and said, “How can I help you, ma’am?”

Holding my phone in my hand, I read straight from the YouTube video I was watching.

“Uh, hello. Can I get Mass Airflow Sensor Cleaner?”

“Yes, we have that.”

“Okay, great. Also, sir, I need a tool to unscrew my sensor. Do you know the tool I need, and can I buy that here?”

It was at this moment that I know he could tell I was in over my head.

He handed me the can of cleaner he pulled off the shelf and said, “Yes, we sell the tool here, but I have the tool you need in my car. You can borrow it if you’d like.”

“Yes! Thank you.”

His kindness made me feel lighter. Someone was on my side. Someone was in this with me.

He walked to his car and came back with a nice toolbox.

He handed me the Allen wrench I needed and asked, “Do you want me to do it for you?”

“No, it’s okay. I want to try,” I said.

He’ll never know what him just standing beside me meant to me. I still didn’t even know his name at this point, but his presence was the “atta girl” I needed. His presence was heaven-sent.

I could feel the warmth of the engine as I put my hands under the hood. I unscrewed the sensor, pulled it out, and my new friend looked at me and said, “You got it! Great job!”

I cleaned my Mass Airflow Sensor, but more importantly, I saw the goodness of God in a stranger.

Jim was willing to stop and really see me.

Instead of letting my mind jump to the worst-case scenario, I want to get better at letting my mind go to the best-case scenario. And I hope you do the same. 

The bible says it like this:

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” — Philippians 4:8 (NIV)

And even when the worst-case scenario does happen, we can trust that God will be right there with us.

But as it turned out, this was a $15 fix, with an AutoZone angel by my side.

With love,
Your friend,
Reyna