Thursday, April 8, 2010

I have a story to tell.....


It all started last Thursday. My husband, John, went to his regular Thursday night event, which is a men’s Bible study. About an hour after he left he called me; looking at the caller ID my first thought was…whaaaat??? What’s happened????. He was all “A-twittered”; our daughter, Aly, had called him. Her car broke down a few blocks from her apartment. It shuttered and stopped. She managed to get it to the side of the road. She first called her boy friend who told her she needed to call her Dad (she should have called him first), that statement didn’t bode well in our books, even though it was correct. We are 4 hours away. John told her to call James. James is a friend she made in her church about a year ago. James recently married a girl from his home town in KS. Sweet James came over after work to take a look at Aly’s car. He noticed a spark plug was missing (how in the world did that happen and apparently a car won’t run if a spark plug is missing) and oil was in the spark plug well (or whatever it is that the spark plug sits in). Where was the spark plug? James couldn’t find it anywhere. He and Aly go to buy a new set of spark plugs; starts up the car, it runs a few blocks and then dies again. James takes another peek and sees that it needs new spark plug wires (apparently they go bad). He tells Aly he will come over to fix it on Saturday; he needs to get home to his new bride. Saturday after work, James comes back. He replaced the wires, the car starts up and runs great. He tells Aly to take it to have the oil changed, which she does after James leaves. Aly asked James how much could she pay him. He tells her 20.00. She pays him 50. It would have cost much more if she had taken it to a mechanic. But this is not the end of the story. For you see there is always more to a story than just the facts.

Here’s the rest of the story. What is a parent to do when their collegiate daughter, who is a 4 hour drive away, calls and tells them her car is broken down on the side of the road? Well the first response is usually to worry, I hate to admit it but that is where we started. With all the descriptions given, the car shuddered and died, the missing spark plug and oil in the spark plug well, it didn’t sound good. My husband knows his way around an engine too and he was thinking the engine had blown and would need major repairs in the ballpark of 2-3 grand. Frankly, the car is not worth that much. We began to consider other options, a newer car or fixing this one was not one of the options. We finally calmed ourselves down and began to pray. Aly called her “Life Ministries” group and they began to pray. I felt much calmer and knew a favorable solution would happen (which did as told in the first paragraph). In the end, it only cost us around 130.00. The car is running great. Praise the Lord. But that’s not the end of the story.

James (remember he is newly married, his wife is new to that area and hasn’t found a job yet) told Aly after she had paid him that he needed the money for groceries. I was so regretful that we didn’t pay him more. But God knows what James and his wife need and He provided that need. It’s hard to grumble about a broken down car when that very event brought about help for someone else. Not only did God use it to help James and his wife but it also taught Aly a lesson. We keep telling her to check her oil, anti-freeze, transmission fluids and all the things that keep a car running smoothly but she seems to have the attitude that it will run and keep running without anything required from her. Needless to say, her attitude has changed and that’s a bonus too.

15 comments:

Country Prims said...

So glad everything came to a satisfactory conclusion in the end. Thank God for His protection upon your daughter too-there is always something to keep us on our knees:)
Blessings, Shazy x

Sheila said...

I'm glad to hear that this had a happy ending for all concerned. God has his way of bringing us through situations by having faith!

Lynn said...

So very glad to hear that this had a happy ending for everyone.. Our God is sooo good, as he knows our every need even before we ask.. He takes such wonderful care of each one of us, and sometimes when we don't know why something happens such as it does, such as your daughter's car not having a spark plug! God knew that James needed some monnies for food, and God took care of both James and your daughter's needs.. We do serve an awesome God!!

Blessings,
~Lynn

Holli~Where The Rooster Crows said...

How wonderful is that? God does such great work and it is so great that he gave your daughter and Jamestheir friendship and allowed them to help one another when in need. I am so happy it all worked out for everyone!!

Lady Farmer said...

As a mom to a daughter who went off to college in Alaska at the ripe old age of 17 (was there 5 years) and then off to New York (we live in Washington State) I can sympathize with your worry! But 9 years later and daughter happily married and working on her Ph.D, I can heartily say ~ God is Good, All the Time!
Blessings!

The Farmer's Attic said...

Wow - my husband's vehicle is doing the same thing and the mechanic said that he needed spark plugs, wires, etc. If he has the mechanic do it, it will cost us $500. I'm thankful for a husband who is handy enough to do this work himself.

So glad your daughter was safe, sound and in the hands of the Almighty Sovereign God!!!

Lucy

Unknown said...

God does answer prays in a funny way. Had Alys had not broken down she would have not learned a lesson and James and his new wife would be hungry!
God does work in his own way.

Tina❀ said...

what a great heart warming story, Willa! You just never know, gotta love the work of God.

Simple Home said...

I loved this story. It brought to mind the time I broke down on the side of the road when I was about 20 before the days of cell phones(I had a flat tire). It was 5:00 in the morning, and I was headed to work, before going to college later in the day. All I could think about was the fact that my dad didn't like me out at that time of morning, and he was going to be so worried. I said a quick prayer, and about 2 minutes later, a CHP pulled a car over, right behind my car. While one of the officer's gave the guy a ticket, the other changed my tire. The next day my dad had me signed up for AAA road service :-) My membership card now says 29 years!
Blessings,
Marcia

Crystal Martin said...

God is good, that's for sure. Prayers are answered when we need them most. Oh, AAA doesn't hurt either. I got that for my son when he left for college...ended up using it a few times.

Valley Primitives Gift Shoppe said...

Thank you for sharing that story with us. Praise God He is in total control of all situations and that He used worn vessels like us to complete His will.
Kim

lordblessu said...

with faith, all our woes can go around and help someone else without even knowing it. Praise God and be faithful. Good deeds are rewarded!!
jc

Country Wings in Phoenix said...

Good Moring Willa sweetie...
What a beautiful story about Aly. Praise God everything worked out for everyone around. James needed groceries and Aly needed help and everyone was blessed.

Yes, AAA is probably a good idea for Ms Aly. At least she could stay locked in her car, until they could come and you wouldn't have to worry about her being on the highway.

And I am still curious as to what happened to that spark plug? Do you all think it was tampered with? That is kind of scary.

Alls well that ends well sweetie. Was so good to pop by and say hi. I have missed you. Have a beautiful Sunday sweetie. Country hugs, Sherry

The Old Cupboard Door said...

Thank you all for your encouraging words. My husband and I are going to look into AAA.

We still don't know what happened to the spark plug, it was never found. We have discovered over the years not to speculate about things; we can convince ourselves of something and find out that was not how it happened at all. God in His devine wisdom knows how all things will work out and how to work any negative situation in our lives into something positive and that positive becomes a blessing that out weighs any residue from the negative.

Thanks again!

~willa~

Angie Berry ~ Berry Homespun Primitives said...

Ah Willa, this story brought tears to my eyes because I think about my own children who are all still home and not even driving yet. I try to enjoy our time here together and not think about the "what if's" of when they leave the home. I'm thankful that God allows us to come to Him in prayer so we can have that peace and comfort that only comes from Him!

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