Missed posting yesterday: one of the tires on the Land Cruiser blew apart... So I spent any free time I did have finding a spare that was at least partially reliable, talking to tire repair people and then waiting for them to change the tires around again... all with most or all of my gang + a few extras sitting in the car.
It was frustrating because all of THOSE certainly weren't events listed in my dayplanner for the 22nd of November, 2010. But at the same time, God's hand was so very evident, in so many ways... and I'm thankful for the things He is teaching me about gently accepting the hard moments, because they are gifts from Him just as much as the moments we typically deem delightful.
#571 the tire didn't blow until I was right in front of the girls' school... I'd already picked Jonathan up (and that is important here because if you dally beyond the pick up time, you could very well find your children sitting outside a locked school yard, unsupervised, right along a very busy road, regardless of the child's age)
#572 the tire didn't blow as I was traveling at a good clip in the middle of heavy, crazy, developing world traffic patterns (or lack thereof) :-) ... or in the middle of the only bridge with a resulting traffic jam on both sides of the river (how embarrassing)
#573 the tire actually blew right as I just began to move again after having dropped Nadia off and sent her into the school yard to find her sisters, so it wasn't too dramatic
#574 there was a little tire shack not 200 yards down the road from where the tire fell apart
#575 the two young men at that tire shack changed my tire for me, and it only cost me $4
#576 right next to the tire shack was another boutique and I was able to buy credits for my cell phone, without having to drag all the kids on foot down the road with me
#577 missionary colleagues were able to loan me a safer spare tire than what we had... and then took the Land Cruiser today to replace all the tires while loaning me the mission vehicle
#578 every time I stopped at one of those tire shacks (4 stops in one day is more than normal)
#579 patient, mostly happy kids, even though they were stuck sitting in a car for over an hour in nearly 100' weather
#580 I'd packed a lunch for the kids - instead of planning on picking something up or making it once we got to the other school (where I'm working), so they were able to eat while waiting
An uncomfortable, generally unpleasant, time consuming and unplanned for episode... and yet I see God graciousness and provision. He was taking such good care of me and my littles... all of that time...
P.S... and just for fun: a few more additions, from today:
#582 laughter shared with a friend as the very next day, just after we started our grocery shopping, my shoe blew apart... oh the irony!
#583 the fact that you can get away with shopping barefoot in this country, even if people look at you strangely and one of the store owners laugh because it is the first time he'd seen Mary Michelle with shoes... and her mama wasn't wearing any. =D
wow! what an experience!
ReplyDeleteI love that you said "dally"! Haven't heard that word for a bit.