Being Thankful

Have you ever noticed how things all happen at once. I am not necessarily talking all bad things either. Just things you have to deal with. For me, April and May brings about a whole host of events: my niece got married last month in Florida. Saturday my sister will be hosting a reception for her. Next month Chris' cousin is getting married and he is going to be in the wedding. Easter. Birthdays---Alex, me, Mom. Mother's day. Homeschool Convention. CJ going to Worldview camp. See.....all great things! But with each great thing comes expenses. Weddings= wedding gifts (usually cash). Being in a wedding= expenses like wedding attire (which we are not sure what it is going to be at this time because they keep changing their mind). Birthdays=dinner, gifts. Homeschool convention= do I have really say anything about that one!

I was alright with all of them, in fact, I am looking forward to each one. But then the unexpected happens------the van breaks.....again. I rented a car yesterday so we could get the van to the mechanic. After he had it ALL day yesterday, he said he couldn't find anything wrong. I drove the van today to co-op and I found out (the hard way) that there was definitely something wrong. Back to the mechanic the blue beast went. He called. There is a problem but he just isn't sure yet exactly what (he narrowed it down to 2 things). He won't know until he starts taking the motor apart. You know what that equals........BIG $$$ just to diagnose it.

Anxiety started kicking in-----BIG TIME! How was I going to do it all? Where was the extra money going to come from? I was getting myself all worked up. Then I had to stop. Refocus.

I had to put things in perspective. First off, I told myself that there are people with far worse problems than me right now. This was small.....very small in comparison to them. They wish a broken car was the least of there problems. Next I had to ask God to help me through this. I told Him I knew that with him all things are possible. Then I had to look at what was coming up. Are there things that I might have to give up......yes there are. Maybe this year I won't go to the convention. Will the world stop spinning? Nope. Will the sun still rise? Yup.

I have so much to be thankful for. I have a wonderful husband that goes out of his way to make me comfortable during my pregnancy. He is a fine example of a man loving his wife as Christ loves the church. We have been able to rent this 5 bedroom house for the last 2 1/2 years. It gives us plenty of space to spread out. We have food in our cupboards. Chris has job---how many people are either losing there job right now or they are under-employed. Thankful. Very thankful for what I have.

After setting my mind straight I made a phone call. I called our car insurance company. See, 2 weeks ago Chris was rear-ended after driving CJ to the high school. Nothing big. He was in a line of traffic due to road work and the kid behind him hit the gas a little too hard thinking they were going to get further then they did. Well this little fender-bender is bringing us a check. Could we get the dent fixed. Sure we could. But honestly, the van is 8 years old now and in the next couple of years we will be trading it in. Fixing it wouldn't make that much of difference in what a dealer would give us for it. So we decided (before the van even broke) that we would hold on to the money "just in case". Well it seems that the check was issued today!!!! We should have it by Monday (if not sooner)!!!! This money should cover the cost of the van being fixed.

God is good.....all the time.