Reassurance

For a while now, I have been praying for our car. A little weird? Probably.

We have had the Honda Pilot for about six years and it has been so good to us. We know it needs to have some maintenance work done, but this expense will have to wait until early next year. It runs fine and everything and we're not having any trouble with it. Yet. But how long can your car remain healthy and running smoothly without the regular maintenance? A little bit of me feels like the sand is slipping through the hourglass until the inevitable breakdown. Can we make it through the next few months?

I realize that it makes much more sense to spend money now on preventative maintenance. This is a no-brainer. In fact, this type of advice bugs me a little bit, because I find it a little patronizing. Of course it makes more sense to spend money on the car now, just like it makes more sense to save all year for a Christmas fund and to "pay yourself first" in a savings account. When we are done paying off all of our credit card debt in about a year, these are the types of things that we will be doing.  But in the mean time, we can't. The money just isn't there yet and we are doing the best we can.

Hence the prayers for our car.  There have been many times driving recently when I sort of pet the dashboard and think to myself, "You're such a good car. You've been so good to us. Just a little longer, okay?" And then I even ask for heavenly help: "Please Lord, can you help our car make it through the next few months?"

I definitely laugh at myself sometimes when doing this, but I'm alright with that.

With four camping trips and a trip over to Chelan this summer, our car has taken on the extra miles this season. On the car ride home yesterday from Deception Pass, Jason and I were planning to get the car new tires next year. After we parked in the driveway, Joshua got out and asked, "What's that sound?"

Hssssssssssssss.

Our left front tire was punctured and worn enough that it is not reparable.

Did this happen on the highway with three kiddos in the car?  Nope. Right there in the safety of our own driveway. That tire is the only one that is worn that way, so we should be able to replace it now and then replace the others in a few months. Not ideal, but it'll do.

Sometimes when  I am worried about something, it's as if through the everyday events of my life, Jesus will check in with me. I imagine him walking down the street in front of our house as we realize that the tire is punctured, how many miles we have driven this summer and how blessed we are that this happened at home. An answered prayer. He strolls by, points at us, clicks with his tongue twice and reassures us,

"I"m right here. All the time.
I got your back."