Miracle on the Highway

OK I mentioned this a few weeks ago, and the craziness has calmed enough to tell the story. I'll get back to unpacking the last few boxes in a bit. :)

Our vacation this summer got off to a slow start, but God's hand was in it all the way! We packed the van the night before and were ready to roll early the next morning. SweetHeart needed to run a few errands and drop his truck by his parents, and we would pick him up on the way. So he left first. The kids and I piled in the car and as I turned the key we heard click, click, click. Evidently having the doors open with the lights on had drained the battery! When I dialed the cell phone, SweetBoy answered in the van--obviously it was not with my hubby! It was early and I didn't want to bother the neighbors, so we waited. I went back in to finish up some dishes and do a load of laundry. (Tell me why there is always dishes and laundry to do!) The kids were outside and saw our neighbor out. We asked if she could jump start the battery and she graciously helped us out. That saved us at least 30 minutes over waiting for SweetHeart to come back. That is an important 30 minutes!

We picked up SweetHeart and trucked on along and things seemed fine. By late afternoon, SweetHeart decided something wasn't quite right and we stopped for a new battery, which happened to be the last one they had for our van! They installed it and off we go! About 45 minutes later it was close enough to supper to stop. The van started right up and we decided to go on to the next town where we had hotel reservations for the night. There is nothing between where we are and the next place, about 70 miles or more. We got 45 miles from our destination and the van dies completely! We are on a 2 lane road with narrow shoulders, but we coasted to a wide spot, a driveway for the pasture, a safe place to be off the road and the kids could run a little. And we had cell service where just around the corner it was iffy. Perfect timing!

We had been stopped for maybe 10 minutes when a tow truck passed us going the other way. SweetHeart flagged him down and he turned around. The tow truck driver, Darren, said that he was on his way to another call that only needed a belt, but he had driven the tow truck anyway. If we were still on the side of the road when he came back by, he would help us. We did call the road side assistance, but they said it would be about 3 hours before they could get someone to us. Thank you, but Darren will be back by in about 45 minutes! So here we are...

going on the tow truck. Did I mention that it was a crew cab big enough for all of us?! As we were going, Darren said, "Let me call my buddy at the auto parts store and see when he closes." Oh, I also forgot to mention this is Friday of 4th of July weekend? Most places were closing at noon! But his buddy would be open until 8:00. With the time change we should make it with 15 minutes to spare! I told you that 30 minutes was important!

Darren dropped the kids, the dog and I off at our hotel. I thought I had my wallet with my ID and money with me in the diaper bag, but of coarse, it fell out in the van! The lady at the front desk believed me when I told her our situation, and she had compassion on me. As she watched the big kids and Daisy run around outside, she said, "I see you need a place to settle, here is your key."

Meanwhile, Eric was with the van at the parts store. They had one alternator left for our van, and they owner started to install it for us. But by then it was getting dark and part of it was tricky to install, so he wanted to do it in the morning. He said he would try to find someone who could do it for us the next day--the 4th of July! While SweetHeart was walking back to the hotel, Darren called and asked if we had someone to install it for us. He told us that one of his employees was going to a call early the next morning and could install our alternator on the way. Sure enough, he came and did just that the next morning. SweetHeart remembered that we had replaced the alternator not too long ago, and it cost us about the same for the battery, tow, part, and labor this time as it did at the mechanic at home!

We had planned a fun stop along the way, but because of the expected rain, decided to go on to our campsite where the rest of the family was already. But all things considered that was OK! On our way up the mountain it began to rain. We were discussing all that God had done to work things out from the timing to the parts to the people. By the way, if you were one of the people Darren or his employee was on the way to help, I'm sorry that you had car trouble, but God was working things out! After recalling all of those things, we were thanking Him, and asked, "While You are at it, could you let it stop raining so we can unload the van?" He did!

I was studying Esther and God's providence. Beth Moore pointed these verses out.

Ephesians 1:11 tells us that God "works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will."

Philippians 2:13 says that God "works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."

Romans 8:28 reminds us that "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

I shared several months ago that we were waiting. Well, we were waiting on a new job. And at the time this story happened, we were still in the middle of that wait. This was a perfect example and reminder that God works it out, He works it in, and He works it good! To orchestrate all that had to happen in perfect timing within 24 hours...of course He can handle the situations that have to happen to put us in the place He has planned for us to be. My God is amazing and I love Him so! And I know that He loves me!

While we were waiting on the tow situation to pan out, we had a great view. I didn't think about it until we were driving away. But I got this shot on the way home. By the way, I posted these close together so if you didn't see the highlights of our vacation, scroll on down and enjoy some pics!