Friday, May 14, 2010

Car Breakdowns and God’s Timing ~ A Finer Thing

finer_things_friday
This week, I find myself reflecting on how good God has been to me.  He is always right on time.  His timing and ways are so much higher than my own.  Personally, I prefer a world where nothing needs to be maintained, repaired, cleaned, or cooked.  So that I can just play with my kids, watch their 5,248,357th baseball game, and crochet.  Since we do not live in this world, things do break down and have to be repaired. 
This week, it was the van.  Please understand, my van is my lifeline.  It is my favorite vehicle EVER.  SERIOUSLY!  I love it.  It takes me where I want to go and has room enough inside for all the kids to separate.  It even has doors that slide on both sides.  Oh, and the air conditioning works on a regular basis.  Since it has been nearly 500 degrees out with 150% humidity, A/C is ESSENTIAL!!!  The van is also an older model with about 156,000 miles on it. 
About a month ago, my husband went on an overnight business trip.  Right before he left, the transmission went out!!  Oh no, what will we do!!  Well, God is divine and His timing is perfect.  
On my way home from my mother in law’s (aka Mimi) the transmission began slipping.  The next day, my sweet husband went out to check on what I meant by “it just won’t go, there is something wrong, it made this PPPPPPLLLLLTTTTT sound” and the van would not go into gear.  Off to the repair shop it went. 
Since hubby was going on a business trip, his company rented a car for him so the kids and I drove hubby’s car while the van was getting fixed.  We did not need to get the kids up before sunrise to get hubby to work. {Thank you, Jesus!}

The Bad:

Transmission died.  No van, no go! 

The Good: 

Transmission began to die on the way home.  The kids and I made it home.  No whiny, tired, and hot kids stuck on the side of the road.  {Thank you, Jesus!}  
Since hubby was going on a business trip, his company rented a car for him so the kids and I drove hubby’s car while the van was getting fixed.  We did not need to get the kids up before sunrise to get hubby to work. {Thank you, Jesus!}

Fast forward to a month later.  Transmission is fixed and hubby has another overnight trip to the SAME place as when transmission went out. 

The bad: 

The van begins sputtering when you go 40 – 50 mph.  As long as you stay below, 40 and above 50, no problems.  

The good: 

We make it home and no tired, whiny, cranky kids stuck on the side of the road. {Thank you, Jesus!}
Hubby is going on another overnight trip and his company rents a car for him.  So we do not need to get the kids up before dawn and drive hubby to work. {Thank you, Jesus!}
Also, the repair shop thinks it might just be a wire that needs to be replaced.  {Thank you, Jesus!}

So, long story short, God is always there and sometimes we have to look beyond the right here, right now and see the good that God has for us.  Cars will break down, people will be rude and hurt our feelings, we will be tired, cranky, and whiny {and so will the kids}, but God is there and He always has been.

Hope that this post has been an encouragement to you.  When have you chosen to see God’s perfect timing rather than the imperfect situation?

For me, God’s perfect timing is a Finer Thing.  Visit Amy’s Finer Things for more Finer Things Friday.



6 comments:

  1. Wow. I am in the same boat..er...van as you! Our van is up there in miles, is about to dye, and we only have one vehicle! BUT the Lord has been providing a way for us to get a new (used) van and I am so THANKFUL at His goodness!!!!!

    :)

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  2. We too can relate to having many car repairs! We actually ended up having to replace the engine in our Jeep last summer. Luckily, since my husband works nights, we were able to get by with only one car.
    A week ago, my husband had an opportunity to get a job on 2nd shift at his company. He applied for it, but they ended up decided to abolish the job, so no one got it. Yesterday morning on his way home from work, his little commuter car (a Honda with around 250,000 miles on it!) died for good. It was a blessing that he didn't get that 2nd shift job, because I would have been left at home with the kids without a car from 1pm every day! So once again, we are able to get by with only one car. Those little things let me know that God is always looking out for us.

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  3. Amen to that! It's amazing what a difference a matter of perspective can make. Thanks for the reminder... we all need to look at situations through eyes that KNOW God is doing what's best.

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  4. What an encouraging post! It is so encouraging that you are still thankful with all that is going on. Definitely need to remember that when things go wrong it is still for our good and His glory!


    Have a great weekend!
    Sherry

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  5. Oh no...I'm so sorry to hear about that!!! Everything in my house broke last week EXCEPT the van...I sympathize!

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  6. Last year my husband's business was not going so great (he's self-employed), I found out 3 days before I was due to get paid that my pay schedule had been changed & I had been changed to a 10-mth employee rather than a 12-mth so I wouldn't be receiving a check all summer and we had a baby & a 3 year old. I learned a LOT last summer about stretching a dollar & even MORE about trusting God. God is ALWAYS there and I am thankful for that every SINGLE day. :)

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