Lord direct my steps and my oil change!

“Such pretty red hair! Baby, do you got you a man?”

I cringed as several other workers in the oil change bay snickered and rolled their eyes. Apparently, Playa Paul had a schtick that the ladies had to endure to get their oil changed. This harassment lasted as long as the service did and he gave me a card with his number on it before I drove off. I felt slimed, said nothing and I vowed I would never go back. In fact, I never liked going there anyway. The male employees were always loud and yelling back and forth calling out service orders like they worked for the Seattle Fish Market. It was never a calming experience but there was nowhere else to go that didn’t require leaving your vehicle all day. After I started buying Toyota I gave all my oil biz to the dealership.I recently tried to book an oil change with the dealership online but there was a 10-day wait! I opened my mail and there was a $20 off coupon from this chain I had avoided for 15 years. The location was only 5 miles from my home and the coupon enticing, but the bad memories surfaced. I argued with myself for several days and God whispered “It’s ok. You need your oil changed” and I found myself driving over.

I was greeted by a soft-spoken younger woman who was training someone in. She went through my oil change options and when I declined any filters before she offered them she did not push me to buy. In fact, she showed me my engine filter and said it looks ok but keep an eye on it.I still tried not to make eye contact as I did not want to be talked into anything else. But God started to tell me about this woman as I watched her walk around the bay. “She is a manager, but I have more for her. Tell her.” I finally called her over and said” I don’t want you to think I am weird but God just told me that you are called for more than this position. You will be promoted and become like a regional manager or training manager or something else. You will help to heal the brand’s image. God wants so much more for you. He wants to use you in a larger capacity for this company. Start asking to be promoted” Her mouth dropped open and she said ” I am open to that. In fact, I have been asking to get promoted for several years. They already know that.”I went on to tell her how God saw her skills at her job and then God gave me a word of wisdom for her. “They like you here, they don’t want to lose you. To get promoted you to need train, someone, to take your place who will continue to instill your values and work ethic in others. If you can do that, they will trust that you can move on and the place will be taken care of” She smiled and pointed out the two people who could perfectly replace her.

As I drove off I said “congratulations on your upcoming promotion.” She smiled “Thank you!” Not only did God speak a better future into this woman’s life but it healed my negative memory of this brand. It also stretched me to follow Him regardless of what my past experiences have shown me. We can all be stubborn and protective of ourselves even over minor past issues. Ask God to heal you of every past bad experience no matter how small. He is constantly moving us forward and healing us in very simple yet profound ways of things that hold us back.