Hood Knowledge
Have you ever experienced a nagging problem? Nagging problems aren’t the in your face, got to do something now type problems, but the this stinks, probably should do something problems that can easily be punted to next week and beyond!
For over a year, I’ve experienced a nagging problem of epic proportions in the hood of my car. Every time I’ve opened my car door a knocking noise occurs on the passenger side dash that sounds like I’ve got a trapped troll in the glove box or worse a mad cousin in the mafia! In the beginning the noise irritated me to the point of adding get car fixed to my weekly to-do list but every week something urgent would come up and I’d cut and paste that bullet point on to the next.
As time went on, I learned to cope with my nagging problem and I’d think about getting it repaired occasionally but got creative in learning to deal with it. The noise would last 30 seconds from the door being opened so I developed the funny mafia joke for passengers and would time my Bluetooth calls accordingly. It’s amazing how much energy I gave to cope with the nagging problem rather than focusing my energy on solving the nagging problem.
Through a random conversation about YouTube, the thought triggered in my mind to see if anyone else had experienced the nagging problem of trolls or mad mafia cousins and low and behold there had! Five minutes later the once nagging problem was a trip from AutoZone and a few screws away from being no more!
I’m not a car guy by any stretch, but with a little help from YouTube and a willingness to try, the nagging problem is no more. AND when people ask me what I did this weekend I can calmly say nothing much really; just changed out the actuator in my car. What did you do? When I put it like that it sounds much cooler than opening up my glove box and changing out a couple screws!
We’ve likely experienced the frustration of a nagging problem that impacts our lives in some way. Maybe it’s under the hood of our life that no one else can even see? Maybe it’s a battle with self confidence or a fear that’s constantly holding us back? Maybe it’s interpersonal with a family member, friend, or co-worker and rather than putting in energy to resolve the issue, we’ve been creatively spending energy to cope?
As an emotional stuffer, my car problem is a metaphor of my life in many ways of just plowing through hoping for some miraculous solution. God can do that for sure but my experience is that most often He chooses not, because He tends to use our problems big and small to work in us for our growth and development. When I authentically take my problems to God and ask for courage to push into my fears, He’s been faithful to do so every time no matter the size of the problem I face. And like my faulty actuator, most nagging problems can be resolved with a little bit of effort, a lot of humility, and a willingness to push into our fear by faith.