I was driving to work on Tuesday feeling tired, harassed, worried about the Cowboy and his fever, and knowing I had another night meeting coming up…
…Mr. Fix-It was tired, crabby, worried about missing work with a sick child, and stressed about getting everyone off to school with a 2 hour delay…
…It was just not shaping up to be a fun day. I was driving the GMC (which I rarely do) so that Mr. Fix-It had enough seats for the crew (the GMC only seats 3, total), and I was taking the back way (the shortest way) to work…
Ever had one of those moments when you’re losing power up a hill so you push the pedal down a little more, and the speedometer keeps going down? Yeah. Unfortunately I have. More than once. More than twice. More than 5 times, actually. (Once my Tempo hit 200k, every new mile turned into a new adventure for this cash-strapped college student. Has anyone else ever had to get out, crawl under the front end, and “tap” your starter with a crowbar on a regular basis?) But it’s been a while. Mr. Fix-It takes good care of me (I don’t call him Mr. Fix-It for nothing!) and we’ve been blessed with the means to maintain pretty dependable vehicles. The GMC was my parent’s truck and we’ve had it for almost 5 years now. Of course, the gas gauge stopped working about 3.5 minutes after we pulled it in the driveway, so it’s always on E.
So I should have been paying more attention. And truth be told, I wasn’t actually that surprised when it started to sputter and shudder and rumble. I mean, it had to happen eventually. So I coasted to the side of the road…
That may seem like a crazy way to start Thankful on a Thursday, but let me just say, I’ve never had such an easy break-down in my life! God was definitely looking out for me, and I am thankful for that.
“Thou art my hiding place: thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance.” (Psalm 32:7)
To start with, I am thankful it was morning and daylight. In college I discovered that the gas gauge in the Tempo didn’t work–by running out of gas in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere, on a mountain in central Virginia. Let me just say, that’s a scary place to me. Even for a girl that was raised to fear nothing. Did you know that if you get to the middle-of-no-where convenience store 2 miles down the road that they will lend you a gas can in exchange for your driver’s license? (Note to State Trooper: When you pull up to two college girls in a broke down car, in the middle of nowhere, at 12:30 am, “Good evening ladies, how’re we doing?” might not get you the response you’re expecting.) Breaking down at 8 am? Piece of cake.
“I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalms 34:4)
I am thankful that I had a cell phone. In all my misadventures over the last 12 years of having my own cars, I have only broke down one time–one time–where I had a cell phone. Until now. Now it’s two. I’m here to tell you, if you don’t have a cell phone, never fear. Everyone else in the world does. (Except at that mobile home park on Route 20 where my alternator died on Mother’s Day weekend. They did have a portable phone, though, and they let me sit on the chair their poodle was chained to in the front yard.)
“Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the Lord delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.” (Psalms 34:19-20)
I am thankful I was close to home. Literally, just around the corner, although around here that means about 1.5 miles. Unlike when the belt on my alternator broke when I was leaving home one Sunday to go back to college and I had to sit on the side of Route 66 for two hours, in the middle of nowhere, in the dark, again, while Dad got the part and came to fix me up. (That was the time I had the cell phone, btw.) This time I was pretty much in my own neighborhood and could have walked home if necessary.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Psalms 40:1)
But most of all, I am thankful for Mr. Fix-It. Any other day he would have been more than an hour an a half away by that time of the morning. I probably would have called AAA first. (Although they would have been at least an hour away in this case too.) But as soon as I called, he loaded up the crew and came right to my rescue. .
By the way, I’m also thankful I didn’t have the kiddos with me. Any other day, I would have had the Ladybug and the Cowboy both with me. (I did miss having my dog, Kenzie with me though. She was always with me before–and really kept that tow-truck driver on his toes that time we broke down 3 times on 95 in that summer traffic jam and the State Trooper behind me insisted that I call AAA and get off the roadway.)
Even though we’d been snippy with each other earlier that morning, Mr. Fix-It was cool as a cucumber when he got there. My Knight in Shining Blue Jeans and Carhartt. He made me stay in the truck while he filled me up so I was safe and not out on the road. He went with me to the gas station afterward to make sure I was filled up. He even joked with me that I didn’t bother to look in the back of the truck and see the full gas can sitting there. (Actually, it was diesel for the tractor, which didn’t help me at all. Otherwise I would not be here to tell this story because I would have totally died from embarrassment.) And it’s not the first time he’s come to my rescue like that either. It seems the more serious my situation, the better he is at handling it without a fuss. Looking back it’s probably one reason why I married him–well, that, and the dimple.
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swellings thereof…Be still and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.” (Psalms 46:1-3, 10-11)
Be sure to check out the other Thankful on a Thursday posts listed on the left sidebar–or link up and share what you’re thankful for!
