Sunday, December 02, 2007

Just checking in...

Hi dear blog,
I have been MIA for a week now. It has been quite busy. I know many of my friends are also busy so sympathy in not needed...just checking in to let you know I haven't fallen off the face of the earth just yet.
It's been a crazy week for two main reasons. Our beloved minivan got sick this week. And so did Josh. The van went from a few hiccups to "I wouldn't drive my family in this car" (service man quote) in a few short days. So, in a very eventful Thursday we went from potentially having to pay $3000 for a new transmission to...half the cost because they were feeling nice at Christmas to... it being totally covered under a warranty they didn't take the time to research. (I did, and thanks to that we got a rental for the duration of our van's stay at the car hospital as a bonus.)
I had pushed for the rental so I could get to Josh to school on Friday. Until 7 am on Thursday morning, he was just going to have to stay home, because I didn't have any way of getting him to school. Kindly friends in Josh's class gave him a ride to and from school, and I was hopeful that we would be ok on Friday to get him there ourselves. Not so...Josh was up from 11 pm until 7 am the next morning every hour, throwing up. No need for a car. We weren't going anywhere.

Now, before I sound too cynical or down let me share how I saw the shining love of our Lord and His hand of grace through all of these moments:
  • We had just been on a family trip to Shipshewana, IN. IF this had happened while we were on our trip in the pouring rain up, or in the snow while we were there, we would have been riding a horse and carriage home. Not to mention the HUGE blessing of safety on the roads He gave us, instead of a sick van.
  • IF the car hadn't needed to go to the service man on Wednesday, I wouldn't have had to call my friend to cancel going to book club. Through this opportune phone call I found out that the transmission trouble we had was not an isolated incident which caused me to research more information about the source of our troubles.
  • I work the beginning part of the week. IF any of these car troubles would have been serious during that time, I would have had to take precious time off of work. Instead, it all came about when I was available to make several kind but firm phone calls to the service department, research this ugly secret about 1999-02 Odysseys, and be home to find original paperwork from our sale that proved the warranty still covered the powertrain (aka, the transmission, thanks to Wikipedia.com)
  • Josh got sick on Thursday night. IF this had happened any other time, I would have had to take time off of work and with cold and flu season just beginning...
  • Most significantly...I had peace. Real peace. There were several hours of uncertain time where we had the potential for having to fork over an extremely hefty sum of money for this fix. And yet...I had peace. Josh was up every hour in the night and yet we both had peace. He easily fell back to sleep and rested the next day, knowing that I was there, that God was watching him, and that he was going to get better.
God's grace and mercy are ever available.
We just need the faith to see them.
Thank you Lord for the mercies of this week.
May I always see Your hand in our everyday activities.
May I show that to my children that they may also know the gentle peace in all circumstances.

4 comments:

trevsmom said...

So thankful that you could have peace in the midst of the the van gettting sick and Josh getting sick. Isn't it amazing how God orchestrates all the details. Again I wonder how people without Christ handle the day to day bumps and the big giant mountains? Praying for a good, healthy week for the Wise's!

Sittintall said...

I'm so glad that you were able to find peace in that situation. I know it had been a frustrating week (ahh..and only to find out that Josh was sick too!) and yet God gave you peace. That is great. That is awesome too that you don't have to pay a dime on the van. What a week to be thankful for.

Short Stop said...

It is indeed awesome that you were able to have such peace in the midst of such trying situations! It's a testament to your faith and I love hearing how God sends His grace to us when we need it!

That's so great about your van!!

Emily Dykstra said...

Oh, Kris. That's too much. It really is.

Why does rain come in bunches like that? I'm grateful that it all worked out, but be good to yourself this week. Get some rest, girlie!

Isn't God's peace strangely wonderful?