Be Thankful for Your Trials

In all things praise the Lord (James 1:2).

This is Haley and me in a tow truck (Cain’s Wrecker Service) with her car behind us. We were on our way to an appointment at First Baptist Church in Fort Oglethorpe when only a block from the church (at 12:40) the steering went out. Haley barely got it into the parking lot.

It has been POURING RAIN, so getting out to check the car was wettening. Once I did look under the hood, I noticed the belt had slipped off. Then, upon closer inspection, the whole dang harmonic balancer had come off (the big pulley on the engine block)!!

Well, my appointment was at 1pm, so Haley and I left the car in the parking lot and decided to go on inside. But the entrance to the building on the side we were on was locked. They were already in a staff meeting, so nobody answered the phone. Soooo, we had to walk (run) in the rain to the other side of the building to the office door. By that time we both were soaked.

I went ahead with my meeting and Haley went back out with an umbrella to wait for the wrecker. After the meeting I went out to ride with Haley in the wrecker, and that’s when she asked, “Did you know about the tires?”

What??

Both front tires were nearly ready to separate on the inside. Being low-profile tires we never saw the inside edges. So, it was only when the car was lifted up on the wrecker that the tires were easily viewed. The Acura drove fine and did not give any hint that the front was out of alignment. However, at any moment either on of the front tires could have blown out while Haley was driving.

So, here we are in the cab of a wrecker on our way back to Soddy Daisy to drop this car off at a garage, then go get my car. From there we will finally get back on the road to Charleston, SC. I have an Aflac open enrollment scheduled for tomorrow at our daughter’s business and I can’t afford to miss it. We need all the money we can get right now.

But, what could have happened if this car had not broke? A blowout while Haley driving up or down a mountain or on a highway at 70mph?

which trial would I prefer? How we are going to afford to fix my daughter’s car, or how to pay for my little girl’s funeral?

Count it all joy, my brethren! Count it all joy.