Worst Time to Have Car Trouble?

When is the worst time to have car trouble?

I have had car trouble many times in my life, but this was a different kind of day.

This time was different.

This time, I found myself relying on God.

Starting the Trip Off

It was going to be a great competition day. I couldn’t wait to watch my girl compete.

Elly was so excited to compete and even more excited for the St. Patrick’s Day costume contest. 

We planned out the day perfectly.

Dropped my husband’s truck off for inspection.

Dropped Emmy off at her friend’s house right on schedule. 

Addy dumped a ton of water down the front of her and asked if I had more clothes. 

Um, no. No, I did not bring more clothes, but I still have a good feeling about the day.  

We hit the highway on our way to the gymnastics meet. 

Smooth Sailing

I’m already zoned out when Jay says “do you see smoke coming out of the back of the van?” 

I looked but didn’t really notice anything. It was a gray, rainy, snowy and foggy day.

He hits the gas. Oh, yeah, um, that’s smoke. A lot of smoke. Too much smoke.  

No denying it.

Ok, well we can’t make it an hour away and back like this. We might not make it ten more miles like this.

Panic and Solutions

Poor Elly looks like she is going to have a huge emotional meltdown and is starting to cry. I would like to cry as well, but I’m mom so I’ve got to hold my crap together. 

What Next?

So, Jay and I look at each other and immediately start throwing out ideas. We can make it to the mechanic where his truck is, but the keys are in the drop box. 

Spare keys are at home. Home is farther from the mechanic. 

We can probably make it home. 

But, Elly still needs to get to the meet.  

Time to divide and conquer. He starts to contemplate how to get us to his truck and I hit the phone.

Because, God.

The hand of God was so perfectly on us in what seemed to be a disastrous situation. 

I called a gym mom friend who lives close by. They hadn’t left yet and would meet us at our house to take Elly to the meet.

This way she would be on time and not stressed. 

My sister was on call to drive us to the meet if necessary.

Another gym mom was on call to come rescue us if the van blew up.

A Wing and a Prayer

Gallon of radiator fluid in our garage fit nicely into my empty van.  

Off to the mechanic-on a wing and a prayer. 

I Start praying and put holy water on the van. 

About half way there the van was getting dangerously high. 

Luckily, years of watching Nascar has prepared Jay for a moment just like this.  

He is aware of the danger zone.  He is prepared to win the race against time.

Messy Mom Van for the Win

My kids constantly leave water bottles in my car. For once, this mess was our saving grace.

Jay pulled over, took every water bottle we had and dumped it into the radiator. 

Last item was Jay’s Yeti full of ice cold water. Ice cubes were still perfectly frozen and the water was extra cold. 

Cooled the engine enough, we made it to the mechanic. 

Thank you Jesus. 

Counting Blessings instead of Woes

Most would be looking at this like what a disastrous start to the day. 

And yes-while this is not optimal timing for my van to finally go, we knew it would be on its way out in the near future. 

The check engine light has been on and off for a year. 

But God protected us.

First off, this could have happened on any of the trips I’ve taken alone with the kids this year, and there have been several, but it didn’t. 

Jay was driving today. He noticed the smoke right away. I wouldn’t have noticed it as quickly had I been driving. 

We made it safely and on time to see her compete. 

We had friends and family willing to jump into action to help us. 

Remembering to Thank God

It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the bad and forget to see the blessings. To see how God protected us, helped us. 

Being a Christian doesn’t mean bad things don’t happen. It means that we are never alone. Through the good and bad, God is there. 

He never deserts us. 

In the moments of struggle He wants us to lean into him. 

Today I did that. I immediately just closed my eyes and prayed and put my faith in Him.

I knew we would be okay and He would take care of us. 

I haven’t always been able to do this and I may fail the next time something happens. 

But today, today I leaned into my Father’s arms and let him hold me. 

I didn’t need to do it alone. I didn’t need to be in control. I listened to my scripture on my arm. 

“Be Still.”

In fact, I knew I had zero control in this situation. 

I just relied on God and everything was okay.

And Elly, she had an awesome meet and took first in bars!

Tell me about the worst car trouble you have ever had. Comment below.