The other day at work an elderly lady walked in to return her shopping trolley, but came over to the counter holding her car keys up to her face, as if she were inspecting them. She asked if we had any batteries that would fit in her car keys as she had tried unlocking her car, but the buttons didn’t seem to be working. I asked her if she had tried unlocking the car by physically putting the key into the lock on her door and she raised her eyebrows saying she hadn’t thought of that. I asked her if she wanted me to help her, so I carried some of her bags and followed her to the street where her car was…supposed to be. The woman, starting to fret, looked at me saying,”it was just over there! I parked it over near that gate where a group of mothers were talking”. I looked at the empty space she was pointing to asking her if she didn’t park elsewhere, but she was adamant that her car should have been there. 

I continued to follow her up and down the street, looking for a ‘small white Holden’ that was nowhere to be seen. After about three minutes of searching, the lady was now both confused and angry. She started worrying, saying that her car must have been stolen, because “it was right there before when I was trying to unlock it with the car keys”. I reassured her that it had not been stolen and suggested that she may have parked around the other side of the carpark behind the shop. The lady continued to deny that she parked the car elsewhere and begun retracing her steps. All of a sudden a large Land Cruiser reversed out of its carpark space further up the road, not only catching our attention, but revealing a small while Holden parked next to another small gate. The elderly woman was delighted and relieved, “there it is! That’s my car!” By this time I had her car keys in my hand and tried pressing the button and immediately the car unlocked. The lady laughed apologising for how silly she was, “I was trying to unlock the wrong car! Oh dear me!”

Sometimes, although we have the right intentions all along, there will be things in our way that divert our path or distract us from what it is we are searching for. Unfortunately this can cause us to unnecessarily overthink certain situations. Don’t ever stop searching for that thing you are looking for. Perhaps it is that one big dream you have, the goal you have set to achieve this year or that incredible desire to accomplish something. 

I don’t know what that ‘car’ looks like to you, but whatever that thing is you desire, keep searching for it. There may just be a few big four wheel drives blocking your view of that amazing sense of achievement and success that lies beyond. All the cars you have tried – and failed – to unlock on your way isn’t simply to try your patience or laugh in your face. More often than not, they will teach you valuable lessons. You just need to persevere, because you will find that the wrong cars will eventually lead you to the right one, allowing you to appreciate what you have achieved more than you could imagine.

Keep smiling. x