Unexpected Things

I never realized how challenging it would be from a legal and paperwork aspect with the death of a spouse.  Just when I think I have thought of everything, something unusual or forgotten pops up.  Today I was signing paperwork for my “new” car.  Although I have been at the notary’s office frequently over the past two weeks to transfer titles on various vehicles (car, scooter, trailer, etc.) and am well aware of exactly what paperwork is necessary to accomplish these tasks, I was caught off guard with it coming up today with buying a vehicle.  Because the license plate was in both of our names, it was unclear exactly what paperwork was necessary to address this issue.  The dealer contacted Penndot and it took about fifteen minutes for Penndot to research the details.  Apparently it is unusual to transfer tags without also transferring a title, which is what I was doing due to the van being totaled.  Ultimately it was determined that I needed a death certificate in order to transfer the license plate to the new vehicle.  I’m grateful for Mease Motors, a local dealership who have been amazing throughout this whole process – they have been the notary for transferring all of the titles, providing a rental car, and now purchasing the new car.  They have gone above and beyond in accommodating me and my situation.   

It is amazing to me that in the space of two days, I had an accident, got a rental, van was declared totaled, and I bought a replacement vehicle.  I’m sure that if there had been any dispute over who caused the accident, this would have dramatically increased the time to work through all of this.  God’s hand was truly in this situation.  While having the accident was not only unexpected, but very frustrating and frightening, everything has gone as smoothly and as quickly as possible in resolving the situation since then.  Now I am just waiting on the check for the value of my van and for all the muscle stiffness and soreness to go away.  It has been a crazy work week.  With the hurricane, the car accident, and the after-effect of muscle soreness, I have not worked a full day of work this week – half days on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.  I’m grateful for a low-key weekend which will allow my body to heal.

After the accident, I just kept thinking, what in the world is going on in my life? You know the saying, “God doesn’t give you more than you can handle.”  I remember thinking, “I wish God didn’t think I could handle so much.”  Yet I saw a quote the other day that really hit home.  “God doesn’t give us what we can handle, He helps us handle what we are given.”  Many people have commented to me about how strong I am.  I don’t see myself as strong, God simply gives me what I need to keep moving forward a step at a time and as I need it.  God doesn’t give me more than I need.  Maybe so that I don’t begin to believe that I can do it on my own and still need to depend on Him.