MERCEDES
by dean krippaehne
Aug. 2007

The first part of July is my wife's birthday and this particular year some of her friends were throwing a surprise birthday party for her one evening in downtown Seattle at a fancy hotel called the “W hotel." It was a perfect setup - she had no idea. A couple of her friends came to our house in the afternoon, parked their cars and took her on what they said was going to be a "birthday shopping spree" followed by dinner downtown. My wife loves to shop so she bit into the ploy hook, line and sinker and was thrilled to be going shopping with "the girls." When they all left our house and she had absolutely no clue that she was going to be surprised by dozens of family and friends.

I was working that day as usual and also trying to help co-ordinate the logistics of the surprise event. Also, as usual, I was running late so all wasn't going as smoothly on my stress-o-meter as I would have liked. I came scrambling out of our house in a half-dazed, half-craze, trying to keep track in my mind and go over all of the last minute details. Had I called everyone? Had I given them the correct location and time? Would my wife's friends keep her occupied and be able to secretly escort her to the destination without spilling the beans. Would my wife "catch on?" Did I have my wallet? Was there enough gas in my car? And now I was worried that maybe I wasn’t even going to make the 7:00 PM surprise time.

It was one of those unusually hot summer days in Seattle. The afternoon temperature was well into the mid 90's. It was downright uncomfortable. I decided to drive my minivan. It’s the only car that I own with a working air-conditioning system.

So there I am, all dressed up, looking' as good as I can, I've got my keys in my hand, ice-coffee in another hand, I'm putting on my sunglasses with my little finger, adjusting the air conditioning with my knee. You get the picture. As I start to back out of my driveway, not two seconds pass by and I hear this awful, horrible, gut curdling noise. It sounds like this -chrrrucstchzzspht. Immediately, I slammed my foot down on the break pedal and the noise stops. The next thing I know I'm turning my head around to look over my left shoulder, out the driver’s window and in the direction of the sound when another awful noise arose. This time it came spewing out of my own mouth. The moment my eyes caught a glimpse of what had just transpired I let out a string of about twenty rapid-fire, screaming words. You know - the kind of words that you never want your grandmother to hear.

What had I done? I had just backed my van into one of my wife's very best friend’s car. In just a mere two fateful seconds I had carved a three foot long, three inch deep crease in the car parked just off to the left side and behind me. And was it an old beater Honda? NO. Was it a Ford or a VW bug? Noooo. When I mess up I tend do it big - all the way baby. I had just dug a trench into the side of a bright, beautiful, shiny MERCEDES.

How could this have just happened? Why? Well, I’ll tell you. It was because my busy thoughts were everywhere else and on everything else but the moment at hand.

If you have read any of my stories before you know that this is a recurring theme in my life. That is - being lost in my thoughts and not paying attention to the here and now – not being engaged in the moment - the moment at hand. It is quite contrary to the way that God wants me to live.

Well, the good news is that my wife's friend was very gracious and not at all angry - or at least she never let on to me if she was. And, I'm happy to report that I actually had enough money to have the damage repaired.

I pray every day that God can help me be less lost in my thoughts and more, much more awake to His moments as they unfold so that I can better follow where He is leading me and so that I won't fall into sin - or back into any more Mercedes.

Luke 22:45-46
45 When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46 "Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation."

Matthew 6:25-27
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?