Blessed

Just thought I’d share a little story about prayer answered and God’s abundant but practical grace.

Tuesday morning I was barely on time as we headed out the door for school, only to find that my van wouldn’t start. It made the clicking sound of a dead battery and sounded worse each time I tried it. Kris hadn’t yet left for work so he quickly put the boys in his car and got them to school, a little late, but with the explanation of our car trouble they were not marked as tardy.

While he did that I got on the phone. I asked my friend and neighbor Pepper if she could drive over and help me out. She drove her car to my garage and the two of us tried to jump start it, to no avail. Nothing happened. Click, click, click.

She gave me a couple of phone numbers of friends of hers who have the ability to either tow or fix a car. She’s an awesome resource…she knows everyone.

I had two places I was determined to go that morning and I was hoping they weren’t going to be put off by the need for a tow truck and a mechanic. First was Bible study and Pepper was planning to go to that, so I had a ride there if I needed it. The only problem was that she was planning to run some errands after Bible study and I had a MOPS planning meeting afterward in another direction.

My friend Rachel goes to the Bible study too, and was also going to the planning meeting so I called her and asked if she could transport Aron and I to the meeting from Bible study. She said yes. Now the only hurdle was getting back home again.

Kris called and said he was heading back to help me out, but I told him I think I’ve got a plan and sent him off to work.

My friend Ashley was supposed to be at the planning meeting and she lives on my side of town…not where the meeting was, so I called her, all the while thinking “this is awesome…it’s working out!” but Ashley had some previous commitments that prohibited her from making my dreams come true. So…I needed to get that van running.

About then I was wishing I had not sent Kris to work, but I also don’t like to make him do everything. What would I do if he were out of town…I’d figure it out, and I was determined that his agenda didn’t need to be interrupted because his wife can’t handle a little car trouble. If I were stranded on the side of the road, that would be different, but I was home and safe and the worse case scenario was being stuck there and calling a tow truck.

With my ride options suddenly exhausted I stopped in the kitchen to regroup and think through a new idea. It struck me that I had not yet prayed. I called Aron to me and asked him to agree with me in prayer. I explained that the Bible tells us that when two or more agree together that God is in their midst, and that He will hear and answer. I asked him to hold my hand and he insisted that I hold him and we prayed together that God would get our van started and that whatever was wrong with it would be put right. I was also mulling over the fact that just this past weekend we made a financial commitment to our church’s building campaign to build a new children’s facility which is much needed. With that in mind I told God that we trust Him, that we know He is our source for all things and that as a steward of His blessings we believe He doesn’t want us to spend a lot of money on car parts, but would rather see that money go toward children’s ministry.

I put Aron down and said…”let’s go start that van.”

As I walked out to the garage I got one of those waves of doubt. “What if this doesn’t work and I have to explain to Aron that God doesn’t always do what we want?” I shrugged it off and asked God to build Aron’s faith in this example.

I put the key in and it chugged a little, hesitated, whined and STARTED! I gave it a little gas and let it run for about 10 minutes while we finished getting ready to go to Bible study. I was on cloud nine and Aron was pretty proud that he helped start the van.

The rest of the day, when we needed to start it, it started. Each time though the engine would hesitate first. I knew something still wasn’t right, and I struggled with what to do. Do I continue asking God to start it each time, is this one of those faith tests where I’m daily asking and He daily delivers, like manna in the dessert, or am I supposed to take it to a mechanic and get it fixed? I don’t want to be foolish and end up stranded because I had faith in something that wasn’t God directed, but I didn’t want to minimize what God could do either. He HAD started that van after-all.

I got home from the meeting, went to early voting, and then went and got the boys from school. Each time the van hesitated when it started. I had pretty much decided at that point that if God didn’t want me to take it in, He would have fixed it completely. I should take the van to a mechanic the next day and get it looked at. Kris confirmed that decision.

The next day, I had a doctor appointment for Aron and had to take the boys to school before that. I would need it to start. It did. Hesitantly, but it started. I drove from the doctor’s office straight to the mechanic who I had called on the way to school. He did a quick test on the battery and said, you just need to replace this battery and you’ll be fine. I thanked him and tried to start the van one last time on that poor battery. It wouldn’t turn over. The mechanic hadn’t gone back inside the shop and heard the desperate little van that couldn’t, held up his “wait just a second” finger and came back with a charger. The van started and I was on my way.

I took that battery back to the Auto Zone where I had purchased it, told them when we had bought it and they found the warranty which knocked almost $60.00 off the price of a new one. They put it in for free and I have a car that starts faithfully for less than $30.00.

So…God answered my prayer right? He got my van started, He kept starting it until I could get it somewhere for help. It was sort of like the manna in the dessert in that respect. The only time I couldn’t get it to start was when there was a person God could use to help me. He didn’t take away the burden, God isn’t into keeping us out of trouble, He is more of a walk through it with you kind of Savior. He likes to see us learning along the way, and I like that about Him. He did make the burden light. To the tune of $28.09 for a brand new battery and I didn’t even have to get my hands dirty. I’m blessed.

I’m very blessed, not because I have the finances to pay for stuff, but because I have a God who sees the best case scenario and walks me through it. I got to meet people along the way. A nice mechanic who I will definitely go back to if I need him. A sweet girl at Auto Zone who needs someone to introduce her to Jesus and Aron got to see God at work in the details, because we asked Him to.

His grace is abundant, but it’s practical and real. It isn’t a button we push for wishes, it’s a hand we hold and a wisdom we can count on. God is so, so good.