Hell on Wheels

It’s very easy to perceive life as a random sequence of events, with no rhyme or reason. However, if your spiritual eyes are open, you can, many times, witness a grand and miraculous puzzle come together – and the big picture may be quite awe-inspiring.

Here’s what happened to me a few weeks ago. One particular day, I decided that I had too much free time, as I was able to shower and actually blow-dry my hair. A friend happened to call me to tell me she had lots of extra food, and asked me if I would mind finding someone to give it to, since I have a car. No prob, Bob!

We placed the containers of food in the back of my car, and off I sped down the yellow brick road. My car cheerfully skipped across the winding curves and speed bumps as I sang, “We’re off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz!” in my best Munchkin voice. In no time, I pulled up to the Emerald City.

As I approached the back of my van, I shrieked in horror as I saw that I had accidentally backed up over the Wicked Witch of the East. But that shriek was nothing compared to the shriek I let out as I witnessed the horror scene inside my van.

One of the containers had opened and spilled all of its soupy contents. All. Over. My. Car. People turned to stare at me, obviously because of my beautiful face that so closely resembles Judy Garland’s when she played Dorothy. Annoyed, I told them that I’m not signing autographs right now.

Near tears, I used what was left of the small pack of baby wipes to clean up the mess as best as I could. Right on cue, the thought came to me that Hashem was just increasing my merits, because any discomfort one experiences while doing a mitzvah serves to increase that person’s merits. Cool. I was down with that. But, when I finally got back into my car…

Yeeeoooooowwww, it was the smell of Gehinnom!! Geez Louise! What in the world was in that soup??! You know, now that I think about it, maybe that’s another reason Hashem made it spill – so the people wouldn’t have to eat it! What a terrible thing to say!

I tried three times to scrub that smell out, using every chemical cleaner I had. No change. For three weeks, all of us suffered tremendously for every moment we were stuck in the car. This gives new meaning to the phrase, “Hell on wheels.” My car really was Hell on wheels. Even the baby would gag terribly when I put him in his car seat.

I called around for quotes for a deep car cleaning, and the prices were insane! Finally, after almost a month of suffering, I gave in. I decided that I would pay the 600 shekel (!) and consider it as an atonement for some transgression that my husband obviously did, because I don’t do no transgressions. My mother always said I was perfect. At least, until I was able to talk.

Well, here’s the crazy thing. The same morning that I decided to happily accept the situation, I went food shopping. Shocker, I know. Do I do anything else besides shop for food? Right! Laundry. How silly of me to forget. So I went food shopping, and whaddayaknow! The store just started carrying those plug-in wet/dry vacs especially for cars! I was like, fo’ rizzle??

The best part? It only cost me 60 shek! If that’s not Divine Providence, then I don’t know what is!

The moral of the story is this: as soon as we happily accept the situation Hashem puts us in, we are rewarded with a solution and the ability to see Hashem actively involved in our lives!

Now that’s the best 2-for-1 deal I can think of!