Lord, teach me to trust....but...please not this way!

I wanted to write an account of this “adventure” as it is still fresh in my mind AND as the exhaustion of what took place on Monday is still evident by the bags under my eyes today.

Wes and I traveled to Ohio this past weekend for a family reunion. The reunion was great. We had wonderful weather. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting family members that I had never met before and really getting to connect with family members that I may have met briefly only at our wedding. It was a fun time. Pictures will be coming behind this blog....or should be....eventually.... (actually I just realized I left my camera at work...oh well)

So, the weekend came and went and Monday morning at 7am came quickly. Exhausted from the weekend and really dreading the 9 hour trip before us, Wes and I said our goodbyes in the wee hours of the morning and headed home. We were hopeful to be home by late afternoon so we would have some time to unpack and unwind before the work week began.

About an hour into the trip, we were cruising along at a nice pace with little traffic, and all of a sudden we heard a “thump” to which Wes said, “Um, I just lost the brakes, the check engine light is on, the oil light is on, and the car just shut off”.....in the words of our 1 year old nephew Owen, “UT OH!”.

Needless to say, Wes managed to get us to the side of the interstate very quickly and we eventually rolled to a stop. Wes got out and opened the hood of the car to check and see if he could figure out what had just happened. I sat in the passenger seat a bit stunned wondering how in the world we are going to get out of this one. “Lord please help us” was the prayer running through my mind as I pleaded with God. That was all I could think to pray at that moment.

The semi’s were whizzing past us causing the car to shake....I was getting nervous about sitting in the car and even more nervous that Wes was outside the car....I didn’t know whether I should get out and stand in the chest deep grass that was beside the car, or just sit tight. I kind of froze and couldn’t muster the strength to get out so I just sat still.

Wes got back in after a few minutes of checking every possible hose and fluid and tried to crank the engine. We had power but the engine would not turn over.

I looked up and saw that the sign in front of us said that we were about a mile from the exit. What do we do? Push the car to the exit? We just kind of sat there stunned for a few minutes not saying anything.

We decided to call Wes’s dad. And because God always watches out for His children, Praise the Lord Wes’s dad was only behind us on the interstate about 30 min. So we sat, still in a state of shock, trying to just think about what to do as we helplessly waited for their arrival. I hate the feeling of helplessness.... (A great reason why God wanted me in that moment....I like to handle things on my own....but I knew, it was impossible, and we needed a miracle)

They arrived behind us and we got out, and of course, in pure Heather fashion, I just couldn’t fight the tears anymore and I began to cry....I didn’t want to cry, but I was just overwhelmed....My mind had already gone to the expense side of what was in front of us. I knew this was going to be “out of the budget” and that we didn’t really have the extra money to stay in hotels, call tow trucks, AND get the car fixed and have the gas to get home...Not to mention the fact that it was a holiday and nothing was open....it was a scary place to be in....and I wasn’t doing very well. My faith in the Lord was wavering.... (Probably another reason why it happened....I needed the stretching)

Anyways, thanks to the help of the VZ navigator on Wes’s phone and his dad’s iphone we found a Wal-Mart that was only a few miles away....however, the only thing helpful at Wal Mart were the much needed bathrooms....we were just told by the folks in the automotive section, “Good luck finding anything open on a holiday”....Geeze thanks a lot Einstein. They must have been talking to the same cop that stopped on the interstate that said the same thing to us. Not too much help.

Our next thought was to find an Advanced Auto Parts store. Praise the Lord there was one just a few miles from there where a REALLY nice lady (finally) had compassion on us and called every mechanic friend of hers possible to see if they could help us...Little did she know we got her card, and I plan on sending her a thank you card this week. She was defiantly a bright spot in our dismal situation, I know she was on the phone for a good 30 min....bless her....She eventually found one that was open, and Wes was able to talk to the mechanic on the phone.

He talked him through the symptoms of the car and the mechanic was able to determine it was the TIMING belt that broke.....Again, in the words of a very cute 1 year old, “Ut Oh”. Not necessarily an easy or cheap fix....and at that point, we knew we just needed to get the car home.....somehow. There was a sinking sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that was getting bigger and bigger.

Our only other option was finding a U-Haul that was open to rent a tow dolly so Steve could tow us home.....And alas, we found one that was open....with a dolly available....Eureka! We were finally getting somewhere....or so I thought.....

Hang with me on this long adventure....it is just about to get comical....well, it wasn’t very funny at the moment....

SO, unfortunately the U-haul was on the other side of the small town of Lima. Our navigators routed us straight through town....but as we got closer to the “city center” we realized that the streets were barricaded for the yearly Memorial Day parade.

Are you kidding me? Sure enough, there was the town, all the people and children dressed in red, white, and blue, waving their flags proudly.....At that moment, those little flags everyone was waving were NOT representing “freedom” in any form or fashion for me. I was NOT feeling very Memorialdayish.... In fact, I wanted to take those flags and....um....well, lets just say my patriotism went right down the tubes.....I was over it. And I was defiantly NOT being very Christ like in my thought process. I was being honest with God. Finally....That is what He wants....our honesty. For us to let go, and let Him provide. For us to stop controlling....and let him take over. “Just sit back Heather”....that was what He was telling me. But I wasn’t doing a good job of listening.

I was in the process of being broken.

I have to stop here and praise my husband and my father in law. Wes and Steve were great troopers with A LOT of patience. They managed to take every one way street, without getting upset, and got us AROUND the parade...they literally had the patience of saints! I have never been more proud of my husband or loved him more than I did at that moment.

After our “behind the scenes tour” of Lima Ohio was over, and once we were moving down the road again, I could see, in the distance, the sign approaching us closer and closer...That big orange and black sign in the sky.....U-Haul never looked so good. Better than a shoe sale after a paycheck!

30 min and $100 later we had the tow dolly on the hitch and back on the road. But unfortunately, 30 min later the parade was STILL going on and the way back was straight through town...again....

Let me just stop here and let you in on what I was feeling on the inside at that very moment.....”AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH *#&$^*%%#@&!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

No Joke....There we were eeking our way in reverse fashion on the “behind the scenes tour of Lima Ohio”.....AGAIN....It was like a really bad scene from the movie “Groundhog Day”.....I believe, it was at that point and Sally and I decided it would have been quicker to just crown ourselves “Miss Lima Bean” and “Miss Sweet Potato” and sit on the U-Haul dolly and wave and JOIN the parade, than to go around....but, again, God was teaching me a lesson in patience....and boy was I having to learn.

And boy was I NOT being a good student. We DID eventually make it out on the other side. And I WAS defiantly stretched to my limit....

It took about another 45 min to get back on the interstate, get turned around, get to the car, get the car on the dolly, with a cop standing by chewing tobacco, and back on the interstate.
And, thankfully, the rest of the trip was, uneventful.

After 15 hours on the road and side of the road we made it back to Asheville. We dropped the car at the mechanic, emptied my car into the back of the truck and headed for home. We pulled up the driveway at 10:30pm. We were exhausted. Home NEVER looked so good. I was SO thankful to be home and not stuck in the town of Lima, Ohio. I was so GRATEFUL to Steve and Sally for taking this on and walking through this with us.

While we were home, I knew this “journey” was only halfway over. But being home made the rest of the journey a bit easier to choke down and process.

Fixing the car, finding the funds to get it fixed, and surviving the next few months without getting behind on anything will be a process. But we are learning. And being stretched. And I need it. I don’t like it very much.... but I need it.

And I love the strength of my husband. I know he was scared. But he was and has been a rock. Encouraging. Loving. And I am more thankful for him, for his family, for my family, than I have been in a really long time. It is easy to stop being thankful when we are comfortable.

I know this was long, but I felt the need to document my journey for those of you that are interested. Maybe one day I will turn my blogs into a book for my kids....and maybe one day they will go through the same things and see that God took care of us then, as He will them....and as He will you.

He is unchanging. Unmovable. Our Provider. Our strength. Our refuge. Our teacher. Our Father. Our friend. Thank you Lord Jesus.