The Check Engine Light

                Sometimes I cannot help but wonder why God ever chooses to bless me.  I am nothing.  No matter how much good I do in my life I will still be nothing.  Yet, I still find myself being continuously blessed.  It is a good thing that the fate of the world does not lay on my shoulders because I could never be so forgiving and merciful. 

                Last weekend I went bowling with a group of friends.  We had a wonderful time and I felt so happy to have a night away from school and work to relax and celebrate the end of the semester.  Unfortunately the drive home did not go how I planned.  It was raining and as all the other cars turned to get on the interstate I told my friend that I was going to take the long way because I don’t like driving on the interstate in the rain.  Well, we made it down Taylorsville and Breckenridge just fine, but as soon as we turned on Cannons I heard a ‘ding, ding’ sound and that troublesome check engine light starting blinking.  We found a side road and before we could park we could smell the engine burning.  It was 11:15 at night, raining, and we were just two girls all by ourselves.  I called my mom, then AAA.  AAA finally answered our call and agreed to come and tow my car.  Actually, we spent more time waiting for AAA to answer the call than for the driver to come and take our car.  My friend called her neighbor, who graciously agreed to come and get us, even though it was late. 

                That night I didn’t sleep.  I didn’t know what was wrong with my car.  I didn’t know if my little, old car had finally bit the dust and I would have to buy a new one.  There were just so many things that were troubling me.  Somewhere around 3:30am I got up and prayed so hard that I could rest, because I knew that I would need my church family in the morning.  When I prayed I feel asleep right away. 

                The next morning I went to church and was surprised to see that I had missed a call and had a voicemail during the worship service.  I listened to the voicemail and it was the mechanic.  He had already looked at my car, knew what needed to be fixed, had the parts and a quote ready and was waiting on my approval to begin work.  I would have my car back by mid-afternoon.  I had him talk to my dad since I don’t speak mechanic and picked my car up at 4:30 in the afternoon. 

                On one hand, I could say, ‘what a hassle!’ But on the other hand, ‘what an amazing blessing!’  I have been so stressed out with school and all, and I think God used this incident to get my attention and show me how richly I have been blessed.  First of all, my car broke down in a safe location when I was with a friend.  I could have been half way between Cincinnati and Louisville, or in a bad part of the city, or I could have been driving by myself late at night.  My car could have had a major issue and I could have been forced to buy a new car.  I had a brother and sister in Christ who were willing to give us a ride home, even though it was late and they didn’t even know me!  My sister called immediately in the morning and offered her car to me if I should need it.  I was able to get my car back in less than 24 hours and did not have to miss any work or borrow anyone’s car.  It was a little bit expensive to fix, but I was able to cover the expenses.   God’s blessings in my life have been boundless. 

                My faith is small indeed.  I stressed out about this so much when I should have known that God would take care of me.  It reminds me of one of my favorite verses, Deuteronomy 2:7, “The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands.  He has watched over your journey through this vast desert.  These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.” My whole life I have been blessed and I will never be able to thank God enough for all that he has done for me.