Auto Blessings

A couple of weeks ago I was on my way to Wal-Mart, when my brakes started grinding. Luckily, I was going to the gas station first, which also put me on the way to Midas. I stopped at Midas and had them check out the brakes. Sure enough, they were shot. Luckily, since I was so close to Midas when they started grinding, I didn't do any damage to the rotors. They changed the brakes and I was in and out in less than 2 hours. It wasn't the easiest thing to keep 2 kids happy for that long, but the man behind the counter gave Timmy a few m&m's and a drink of milk and Katie is happy as long as she's not hungry. The man also gave me the remote for the TV so that I could put something on that Timmy would like. He was pretty good the whole time and I still had time to go to Wal-Mart and get some shirts for our family photos that night, too. I am so glad that we didn't have brake problems later that night when we were on our way to the photography studio at Bridgewater Commons Mall. That would have been terrible since the studio was 30 minutes away and we had to drive on some major roads and highways to get there. I think the Lord was looking out for us yet again!

Speaking of car issues and the Lord watching over us, I'd like to take a short walk down memory lane. Michael and I have had more than one blessing when it comes to our cars.

For instance, when my brother, Aaron, got off his mission, I drove up to Newark with my two kids to see him. At that time, Jonathon was 3, Christian was 2, and I was about 7 months pregnant with Nathaniel. The three of us met Michael, my parents, and my siblings at the airport. Once we had reunited with Aaron, we decided to go to IKEA to get some dinner from their cafeteria. On the way, I got lost and drove around Elizabeth (SCARY) for about half an hour (luckily my brother, Scott, was with me and the kids) before we finally found it. After we had eaten a little (the cafeteria had closed), I left Newark, alone with the two kids, and drove down Route 1 South through Linden and some other not-so-great towns on my way home instead of just taking the Turnpike. When I was about 2 miles from my house, the car suddenly lost power. I had no clue what was going on, but I realized that I was really close to Bishop Pearson's home. I drove down what I thought was their street (unfortunately I turned one street too soon). When I realized I was on the wrong road, I tried to pull over to the side (coasting all the while), but my power-steering didn't work, nor did my power brakes! However, I managed to pull over and stop. I got out of the car and thankfully had my double stroller in the trunk. As I was putting the sleeping kids in the stroller, it started to rain...yeah. So I walked very fast (okay, sort of ran) through a connecting street and found the Pearson's house. You can imagine how surprised Julie was to see a pregnant woman on foot with two sleeping kids in a stroller at 10:30 p.m. on her front step. I find it very interesting to know that they had just gotten home 10 minutes before I got there. Hmmmm... Coincidence you say?? I choose to not think so. Anyway, she took me and the kids home and Michael was able to get the car fixed. Please remember that this was BEFORE we had cell phones and Michael had gotten home before us and was waiting patiently for us to arrive. I am so glad I didn't get stuck in Elizabeth or Linden!!

Some of our car issues are kind of funny. When Nathaniel was two, he loved to play with car keys. What child doesn't? Whenever we would visit my mom, he could always find my mom's car keys. One time, he was walking around with them in the living room and then found his way outside and into her car. He locked the doors and put them in the ignition. Smart kid! He wouldn't open the doors for anything; no matter how we pleaded, threatened, or bribed with m&m's. We had just given up and were going to get the spare, when he put the car in neutral. My mom's driveway is on a hill. Luckily, the hill doesn't go toward the busy street, but toward her detached garage. Unfortunately it's a steep hill. Needless to say, we panicked. The car would've hit the garage pretty hard if it hadn't run over a garbage can that helped to slow it down. He was fine and did open the door after that. How do you tell the insurance company that your car was in an accident with a two-year-old at the wheel? It's kind of interesting that not only did the insurance company give my parents enough money to fix the hole in the garage, but enough so they could fix the electricity that had been broken for quite some time!

The same week that that happened, Michael was borrowing his mom's car, when he got in an accident that totaled her car. He was fine and luckily it wasn't his fault, but his mom wasn't too happy since she didn't have a car anymore. Well, the insurance company came through and gave them enough so that his dad could get the pickup truck he'd been wanting!

All I can say is that I'm glad for the blessings that we have been given whether it looks like a blessing at first or not. Especially since the last TWO helped us not feel guilty.