Abundantly Blessed

There are some times when my family has seen God's sovereignty so plainly. Like the day I got married and the weather was perfect that morning, then rain just poured from the heavens after I got to the church (with my hair done) and continued to rain the rest of the day. I admit it, I was a little vain about my hair. Dare I admit that I still sometimes am?

Then there was the time that I went into labor with my second child. It was December and we weren't ready. At. All! We went to my Dr's appointment, found out I was at 3 cm and that jarred us into action. We took our oldest and went to the grocery store because whether or not we went into labor soon, we had to have food in the house! We also went Christmas shopping. Our oldest child was a little less than a year and a half old, why not shop right in front of him? I knew it wouldn't last forever. :-)

My Dearest packed our hospital bag that Tuesday evening. If we had to go tonight, what would we need? He packed it all. I had had a discussion with my mother-in-law earlier that week, who mentioned that since we moved and had to take a new route to the hospital, there was no direct exit to our hospital off of the freeway we were planning to take to the hospital. We had to exit either a mile before or after the hospital.

My Dearest had to be at work the following day (Wednesday) at 5 am and when he came to kiss me good-bye, I told him he wasn't going to work. We needed to get to the hospital. As he had slept, I paced the apartment and counted minutes between contractions. Right when he was supposed to be leaving, my contractions were about nine minutes apart. We called my mother-in-law; my Dearest got the car ready, and notified my doctor and hospital that we were on our way.

The weather was not icy nor snowy, just misting rain... in December! Traffic was relatively clear for 6:50 in the morning. We arrived at the hospital safely and I delivered our youngest later that morning.

This past week's events will be another one of these stories. God's providence so clearly seen.

Earlier last week, my Dearest noticed a lump in his mouth. Not really painful, just there. On Tuesday or Wednesday, I noticed that our 'Check Engine' light had come on... again. We have had some difficulties with our EGR valve, which makes our 'Check Engine' light light up.

My Dearest went on Wednesday to the auto parts store he frequents and bought the part just in time. The owner was going on vacation starting on Thursday morning and the shop was going to be closed for 10 days.

Thursday, my Dearest took the van to work so that one of his colleagues could clean and replace the EGR valve that evening as my Dearest worked overtime. I had the car and would run errands that afternoon with the boys. The lump in my Dearest mouth had started to hurt more and swell... to the point that he felt compelled to see our family physician, who had just returned from a 10 day vacation. Sidenote - what is with these 10 day vacations sprouting up everywhere? Anyone??

My Dearest called me about mid-morning and told me about the upcoming appointment and that it was also 'Leave-your-wallet-and-work-keys-at-home day.' Could I bring his wallet and keys (along with a check for his co-pay) either to work or the doctor's office? Well, one of my errands was only a mile or two south of the doctor's so I fit this into my errand list.

The boys finished school lunch and off we went to run errands. I was so organized and together! I had a list of everywhere we needed to go, what things were to be dropped off where, to whom, and at what time. It was a beautiful thing. We left the house and went down the street and the brakes felt quite a bit slow to respond, which I chalked up to getting used to the car's brakes versus the van's. I changed that story as I slid farther into the intersection than I would have had the brakes not felt 'mushy.' We turned the car around and went back home and thankfully so, as the brakes at that point the brakes failed. We stopped just in time and we were all safe.

I phoned the doctor's office and talked to my Dearest, mailed the co-pay check, and phoned everyone I was planning to see.

My Dearest came home after his appointment so he could rest and have his prescription filled. Since he still didn't have his wallet, I took his prescription to be filled and took care of my errands. It turned out my Dearest has a blocked salivary gland and was prescribed antibiotics, along with sour foods to get his salivary gland to produce saliva and help the gland along the way.

On Friday or Saturday, I learned that my one of my parents was going out of town on business for the week and my other parent will be leaving town later this week. They decided we could use their van while our car gets fixed and the second parent will leave their car at the airport. The first parent will pick up the car at the airport and we will pick up the second fly-ee when they return from out of town. Complicated, perhaps, but God has provided a car for us while ours needs repairs this week!

It's amazing to see how God has planned all things for his glory. How has God been working in your life?

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Phil 4:19-20