too blessed to be stressed

I want to put a little perspective on my day yesterday for you... because I think that truly, it was a supernatural day for me.

7am - leave the house to take Austin to school in the dark and pouring rain. You should know that our roads don't have street lights and are curvy and scary in the dark. I don't see well in the dark and had to wear my glasses (which I also hate). However... it was better than having him start his day soaked to the skin.

7:45 - arrive at the office and begin to put my new office together. My sweet co-worker had taken my photos from my desk and arranged them in my new office. It immediately felt like home. I actually, very much enjoyed being in the back half of the office.

8am - staff meeting

8:30 - work, catch up on emails, get my new computer set up and in general just remember how to do what I've been doing for almost ten years. It came back!

11am - the local police swarm our back parking lot to arrest a guy who was installing a radio in my co-worker's car (with her permission). apparently he had a parole violation and the police noticed his car in our parking lot so they came to arrest. HIGH DRAMA!

12pm - went out to go to lunch - run to the bank, etc - and discovered that my car wouldn't start. Fortunately, there were still two policeman and another guy that I think was a policeman but he wasn't in uniform. Before I had time to get out and ask for help, I had three guys under my hood tinkering. They showed me a battery cable that had corrosion and showed me how to jiggle it to get it to start. Off I go...

12:20 - errands run... trying to eat a few chicken nuggets as I haven't eaten all day yet... turn the car off and immediately panic wondering if it will start again. Try the ignition... nope... same problem. Try to open hood to do what the police had shown me... can't open hood. Get absolutely filthy trying to bend down and figure out the latch. Call co-worker to let her know that I may be stranded. I am about two minutes from the office so she comes to help me. By the time she gets there, I have figured out how to open the hood. The cops told me to get a coke to wash off some of the corrosion... I didn't have coke but I poured water... and it started.

12:50 - back to the office - short stressful lunch and I've barely managed to eat two nuggets. Know I need more food. Afraid to put anything in my body. Turn off ignition then try to turn it back on to see if it will work. It won't. Cops are still in parking lot... ask if they have a tool where we can knock off some of the corrosion. They don't but are coming back anyways to finish up with my co-worker's radio for her and will take a look at it. I am stressed but feeling blessed. Try to figure out how to come up with a tow company to tow my car to a repair shop and how I will get back and forth to work without a car.

3pm - guys come back. Fiddle with my car some more and realize that the battery cable connector (I think is what they said) is bad, no way to tighten it or insure that it will start reliably. They offer to get the part and replace it for me. The part is around ten dollars. I am grateful.

3:30 - part is replaced, I have paid the nice men for the part and a little extra for taking on that responsibility. Mentally compare the potential cost of having towed the vehicle to a repair shop, paid a mechanic to fix it and renting a car in the meantime. Realized how beautifully God has intervened in my life. I very much at this point want to go home but ... I keep working. Realize that clients who want to see me ASK for me anyways. Realize how much easier my day has been since I haven't been up front dealing with walk in clients. Realize how rarely walk in clients are in a position to purchase our financial products (such as life insurance) that I really need to sell to increase my income. At this point I have not tried to see if the car will work. I TRUST that it will.

5:28 leave a few minutes early just in case I need to catch a ride with a co-worker. Car starts just fine. God is good. Tears spring to my eyes as I realize how beautifully God has provided for me. Realize that although I'll never be an NFL quarterback, I still have a sphere of influence where I can live my faith out loud. Realize that *even if there were no afterlife, even if there were no Heaven* I would want to live the Christian life because of the way it sustains me. Having something to believe in makes a lot of really stressful things way easier.

6pm arrive home safely and realize that my back has not bothered me today. realize that my other parts have not bothered me much... realize that although it has been an 11 hour day away from the house, I am nowhere near as tired as I would have thought. Realize that my friend Pam has brought over a big container of soup and oyster crackers (which I LOVE) and left it for our dinner. Bask in the glow of feeling loved. It's cold and rainy outside by my home is warm and cozy.

7pm - soreness setting in... get a hot bath and settle in for bed... completely relaxed...

Today... I'm back up and feeling great. It's raining outside so I may need to take Austin to school again. It's fifteen minutes in the opposite direction but it goes a long way toward starting his day in a much better way. I can afford thirty minutes of driving for my kid in the morning now that I am not playing all the computer games that took two hours every morning to maintain. It's amazing how much less stressful my life is now that I am taking time to fill my life with things that are eternal verses things that are temporary.

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I am in such a blessed space compared to the fear and frustration of last week. I know that did not come from me! Have a great Tuesday y'all!