Renewed Faith in Humanity

Hey all,

Yesterday evening was difficult.  I made a mistake and am now dealing with the consequences of it.  Five months ago, I sold my son’s car to a person from Craigslist.  The sale was quick, but there was one issue, I failed to provide the DMV with notice of sale.   I never obtained the address, DOB and DL of the buyer, so I couldn’t complete the form.  I just hoped the buyer would be honest enough and complete the purchase at the DMV. 

Well, he was not, so I concluded.  Last Friday, I received a registration renewal in the mail.  I knew I renewed my vehicle’s registration in September so I didn’t know what this one could be for.  I opened the mail and my heart immediately sank.  This buyer never transferred the title. 

The first thing I did was look to see if I could find his contact information.  I found the old emails, but they were from Craigslist so there wasn’t an actual personal email address to contact. l prayed and asked God to help me.  I then tried to find his phone number from the text messages, but I realized I deleted them.  Then I went online to look at old phone bills to see if I could find his phone number.  It took me about 20-30 minutes to determine the likely choice.  I sent a text just saying, “Hi John!” as I figured he’d be more likely to respond without all that extra information, plus I wasn’t sure I was texting the right number (I’ve switched the buyer’s real name for obvious reasons).   He replied back about 20 minutes later.  At that point I text that he bought a car from me, I received the renewal notice, he may have forgotten to transfer the title and ask him for the info I need to complete the notice of sale. He apologized.  I again asked him for his DL, DOB and address to complete the notice of sale yet another time.  He said “Sure, of course” to which I replied, “Thanks John!”.

Then I waited. And waited and waited!  I’m thinking, “Is this guy going to send me the info? I bet he’s playing me!  I should text something back that isn’t very nice”.  Then my thoughts turn to, “God I really need you to help me.  Please convict this man’s heart to disclose this information.  Whatever happens I know I can trust you, but I’m NERVOUS”! I pretty much went back and forth with both negative and positive thoughts until an hour passed.

I sent yet another text, “John?” He replies,“Yes”.  Now for the third or fourth time I ask him to text me his DL, DOB and address so i can complete the Intent of sale online.

I’m thinking, “Come on please, please, please, let him give me this information.” Not even one minute passed and he sent me his address, DOB and DL. Can you believe it!?!?! OMG!  There are sooooo many people who would not have given me that information, but he did. I thanked God for a long while after that!  OMG!

Though it was 5 months after sale, I made it the DMV literally right before they closed today at 6.  Work meetings ran late, so I got there 30 minutes before closing. I was so late, that I was still in line when an employee came out and advised “If you’re not inside by 6, we will lock the door and you’ll have to return tomorrow.”  I left my phone at home so I had no idea what time it was.  When I was about four people away, another employee came out and asked if anyone had a title transfer.  I was the only one in line that did, so he took me to the front of the line to his station.  I explained my error and he completed the notice of sale transaction.  It was finished.

Whew! You talk about a nervous woman! Friday afternoon, when I received that renewal notice my heart sank, I knew I hadn’t completed my part. I had to go through all that simply because I didn’t complete the process.  Lesson learned.  In the future, I will be dotting all i’s and cross all t’s!

The biggest piece of all of this, is my renewed faith in people.  I trust God, but trusting people is a different story entirely.  I really needed this stranger to do the right thing. And he did, sigh. A little over a year ago, someone I cared about, betrayed my trust.  I was caught off guard and wounded deeply.  Without realizing it, ever since then I began looking at people with more of a critical eye. Cynical is the better word. I began being skeptical of everyone. I looked for what a person was trying to gain more than the good in them in order to protect myself from getting too close to anyone who hadn’t proven themselves trustworthy.  

This is no way to live. As one of my favorite pastor’s always teaches, “ Always think the highest thought of others”.  People make mistakes. Period.  Myself included.  That doesn’t mean I don’t need to set new boundaries or make other needed changes.  It does mean I learn, grow and trust again.  

I’m also reminded that over time, people change.  I watched the Malcolm X movie this weekend and he went through many transformations in his lifetime.  Drastic changes! I’ve gone through a few myself.  We all will if we take the time to learn and grow from the lesson’s life teaches us.

Lastly, I made a list of all the people in my life who have been nothing, but good to me over the past year.  This really helped me to change my perspective and begin seeing the good again.  In Matthew 22:37, Jesus gives us the greatest commandment which is to love God with all of our heart, soul and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.  It’s hard to love your neighbor if you’re looking at them through a cynical lense.  I learned a huge lesson over the last 24 hours. Although I didn’t like all I endured to get this problem solved, I am thankful for what it taught me.

Have a great week!

~Felicia