I Locked My Keys in the Car

I wrote this a couple of years ago on another site. Due to the winter weather and being reminded of the theme of this message lately, I decided to share it here.......


Yes, I admit it. My title is true. I was at work and it was snowing. The car was covered. Since snow here in Buffalo is not an unusual event, I have the routine of starting my car and putting the defrosters on full blast to help get rid of the snow faster. The problem is that I also have the habit of locking the car doors as I am getting out.

There is nothing wrong with having these routines. That is, unless they are done together. I got out of the car to brush off the snow, locked it, then closed the door. Yes, the keys were still in the ignition. As the car was still running, the inside was toasty warm as I was now freezing outside in the cold, realizing the mistake I had made. The sad part is that this is the second time I've made this same mistake in recent months. So it's official. I'm 42 and already senile.

On this day we had a family obligation to get to at a particular time so, unlike the last time, I couldn't wait for AAA to arrive and bail me out. You can imagine how happy my wife was when she found out she would be the one to drag herself and the kids out driving in the snow and cold to come rescue helpless Daddy.

I waited, and waited, and waited. It was taking them much longer than I anticipated to arrive. I knew the drive would be slow, but it had stopped snowing, and the roads had been cleared for the most part. After a while I began to worry as they still hadn't arrived. Finally they pulled into the parking lot. My wife apologized and said they were late because there was a bad accident on the road and traffic was backed up as a result.

As I humbly drove home after this incident I passed by the accident site. It was cleaned up by then, but then I realized something. Based on the timing, it seemed that this accident occurred right around the time I would have been there had I not locked myself out of the car.

This really made me think. Could this have been me if I had left work on time? I cannot say that for sure, but I thanked God anyway for the protection. It made me think further. How many times has God protected me from things where I didn't even know I was in danger. How many times have I "locked my keys in the car" or been inconvenienced in some way to avoid a major problem?

This has been a reminder ever since. I thank God regularly for protecting me, especially from things that I can't even see. I am also less likely to become upset when I am delayed, inconvenienced, or faced with sudden changes of plans. I realize it can be God protecting me from another problem, accident, or even something worse. I am eternally grateful for that.

I challenge anyone else to think about that the next time you miss that light, wake up late, or get sidetracked in some way. Just don't lock your keys in the car :)

God Bless!!