“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble
and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7 (NIV)
Yesterday morning my husband texted me after he got to work to let me know he’d heard on the radio there was a fire which destroyed a house and garage on a road close to where my parents live. While we (and my parents) didn’t know the people personally, I texted my dad who is a police chaplain so that he could offer assistance if he felt led to do so. Looking at the picture of what was left of their home, I felt compassion and prayed for the family, knowing that 24 hours from now we are expected to get a snowstorm (in April) which could dump approximately 4-6 inches. Not only is this family without a warm home to seek refuge, they have to start making decisions how to begin to rebuild their lives. A true tragedy.
Not even 12 hours later, Bill walks in the door and drops some news. On his way home from work, without any warning, our transmission in one of our cars goes kaput. However, God was with us because it didn’t decide to quit until he had reached the off ramp close to our house and he was able to “limp” it home the five minutes (which took 20 minutes) in D1, which was the only gear he could get it to move in. Bill has been driving that car back and forth to work for weeks now; to think he could have been stranded on the highway, I could have been stranded on the back roads between our son’s school and home or worse, we had driven it back and forth to a neighboring town just the day before – I could have been stranded even further from home. Nope. God allowed us the safety of having it conk out minutes from our house, where Bill could ease it halfway up our driveway before it said, “I’m done.”
Ironically, when Bill got home, he and I were supposed to talk about a car I’d inquired about that very day, one we were thinking of purchasing and had even put a refundable deposit down on. Because, for the past few months, Bill and I have been prompted by God to buy a “newer” car. Looking at our family’s schedule in the fall, we are going to need two reliable vehicles to get around, and so we started looking. Yesterday’s experience took our deadline from September to “now,” but God had already started preparing us.
The “old” me would have been freaking out about our car dying right before we were thinking of trading it in. The “new” me sat down to dinner with my family and thanked God that we were only dealing with an inconvenience, not a true tragedy. We were safe. God had protected Bill by how and where and when the transmission died. We weren’t dealing with total devastation of any kind. We were dealing with an inconvenience with options, pure and simple. God had prepared us ahead of time for such a time as this. We had two cars we were considering and we went to bed that night, praying that God would show us which vehicle we should go with. At the time I write this, the dealership isn’t open yet so I don’t know the answer… except to know I have peace. Real peace. If the one vehicle we test drove a few weeks ago is still available, I believe God is saying, “that is the one I want you to get.” If it has been sold, than I believe He has another one already picked out for us.
While I was happier with the knowledge we had until September to find a vehicle for our family, I still went to bed peaceful God had this inconvenience already handled for our family. And He used it to show me once again how blessed we truly are.
I can’t say it enough – when God is in control of one’s life, while inconveniences and sometimes even tragedies still occur, He wants to walk ahead of us. He already knows the answer… He’s not surprised by what happens and He’s waiting to lead us through safely. We just have to ask Him to guide, and then be ready to walk in the direction He points.
This morning I sit in our warm house, drinking a cup of hot coffee, thinking about the family who lost their home yesterday. I just spent time with my Heavenly Father, filling up in Him before getting ready to make a few phone calls to determine what options our family has for a new vehicle. And I’m thankful… we experienced an inconvenience yesterday… but today we have options as we go about solving it.
© Cheri Swalwell 2017