Working Under the Hood ... on my ego

Where does the time go? I spent some time working on my truck this afternoon. Being a novice with mechanical maintenance stuff I only work on my vehicles when it is absolutely necessary. And it was necessary today because my truck wouldn't start. Sometimes it has to be painfully obvious for me to get in gear with things such as car maintenance, i'm not sure why. Actually, my dad has a saying "people do what they know how to do". And since I don't know how to "do" car stuff, I don't. I have often wondered why this doesn't motivate me to learn more, but for some reason it doesn't; even when it bruises my ego to say "beats me".

So, in a very random conversation with a friend of mine I mentioned my vehicle plight. He asked the symptoms and diagnosed the problem in a split second. Within a few hours he was getting down to business on my engine (corroded battery posts) and I stood by while he did what he knows how to do, very skillfully I might add. I stood there thinking, "I should have known how to do this". But as my shame faded away I did what I know how to do, and that is listen, talk, ask questions, counsel... getting down to the heart of the matter with my friend. As he worked on my truck, I worked on him. Both took skill, gifting and lots of thought. He fixed my truck and I helped him think about life and his issues a little differently. It was such an enjoyable two hours I drove home wondering why I hadn't let my truck breakdown earlier. Then my ego spoke up... damn ego anyway.