In February 2019, my cousin Tanisha who lives in New York, came to Florida for several days on a business trip. When my daughter Shalenah and I found out she was going to be in town, we made plans to visit her. She was staying at a hotel in Miami Beach, which was about a 30-40 minute drive from where I was living. Miami Beach is also home to the very popular, South Beach. It was a nice hotel, and after conducting a brief internet search, I discovered there are only four others like it, two located in Los Angeles, one in New York City, and one in London.
Upon arriving at the hotel, we had a little trouble finding a place to park, which is normal for a place like Miami Beach. Finding a parking space there can be extremely frustrating, due to the heavy traffic and the lack of available parking spaces. After driving around for a bit, we finally found a space. There were a few confusing signs, but after doing our best to interpret them, we decided it was a safe place to park.
My daughter and I spent about an hour and a half visiting with Tanisha. It was a pleasure to sit and talk with her. It would have been nice to have dinner, but due to an evening work engagement she had, we all decided we wouldn’t have enough time, so we said our goodbyes and my daughter and I started our walk back to the car.
When we arrived at the space where my car was parked, guess what? There was NO CAR! We walked up and down the sidewalk hoping we were just in the wrong place. When I heard the words, “No mommy the car is gone”, we decided to take a look at those confusing signs again, and we ended up calling the number on one of them. They confirmed they had my car, so we began our ten minute walk to the place where my car was located.
Upon arrival we entered the building and went to the front desk. The clerk told me the area where my car was towed from was a popular area for cars being towed, because people often misunderstood the signs. I guess this was his way of letting me know I wasn’t alone. I also guessed that the “confusing sign method” was a clever way to bring in revenue.
After pulling out my orange and green Florida driver’s license to confirm my identity, I was told the only method of payment they accepted was cash; then he pointed me to the ATM that was sitting in the corner. I remember feeling thankful that I had money in my account that I could get from the ATM, because I realized some people would not have had the money at all. After paying the two hundred plus bucks to get my car back, we were escorted to the back of the building. There sat my car with many, many other cars surrounding it. Once my car was freed, we were on our way back home.
Regardless of these inconvenient circumstances, the Lord was still good to me; I ended up getting an unexpected gift the next week that reimbursed my towing expenses! What the enemy meant for evil, God worked out for my good. If you’re ever in Miami Beach, read those signs carefully! This was my first time ever having my car towed, but hopefully it will also be my last.
Psalm 121:8, “The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.”
Previous Florida Memories post: Florida Memories: Keep Praying for our College Students
Drawing Closer to Christ 