In the past 48 hours, we’ve had to take two different vehicles to the mechanic’s shop for repairs. One had to be towed with a broken transmission line, and the other one needed a new alternator. We’ve also had not one, but two broken brake lines, a flat tire, and for the needle that nearly broke the haystack… the lawnmower just died. I said nearly, because guess what we did, when I called to my husband to come see the gas that he’d just put in the mower, pouring out the side? We laughed.
“Well, that’s the end of that mower,” he said, as he took off the filter and the rest of the gas dribbled out. “You can’t fix it?” He just looked at me, “Bugs… it’s done.” I knew he was right; that 100 dollar push mower has been around for years and has been used weekly to mow our two acres, as well as at times, up to three other properties. I’ve mowed more lawns with that push mower than a teenage boy, not for an allowance, but just so that I don’t have to go to the gym in the summer!
At any rate, this newest domestic annoyance, while not earth shattering, was enough to put us over the edge. In the past, we quite likely would have been bickering, blaming each other, or at the very least, bemoaning our fate and lashing out with a “Great! What else can go wrong?!?” But not today, Satan, not today. It seems the Bickersons have learned a thing or two; maybe we are finally growing up, or maybe, just maybe, we’ve learned that blessings often come on the heels of tragedy, or in this case, vexatious situations.
So, we laughed instead, and we actually could see the “bright side” of each problem…The truck could have broken down while we were away this past weekend in a place with miles and miles of dirt roads, loaded down with a four-wheeler, two bicycles and a trailer with two kayaks, and absolutely no cell phone service. We are thankful to have AAA to tow us, and we were so relieved to find out that what we thought was a bad transmission, was only a broken transmission line, which cost 183 dollars, instead of thousands. The jeep also, when it broke down was conveniently in front of the eye doctor, where my husband had a much needed appointment, and had just enough juice to get him to the shop after the appointment, although without wipers on a very rainy day. In addition, the brake line that failed, as he was driving the truck home from the shop, did not cause him to completely lose his brakes and crash into someone, and the second brake line that blew while he was repairing the first, happened in our drive way. The lawnmower? Well, that does suck, but it’s September, and we’re bound to find some clearance mower out there.
It’s all about perspective I guess. The Bible tells us to “consider it pure joy, when you face trials of many kinds.” That seems nearly sainthood level and I’m quite sure I’ll never be happy about tribulations, but I’m very thankful that both my husband and I have learned this verse, and we stand together on this promise found in Romans 8:28… “All things work together for good to them that love God.” I’m expecting a blessing after all this hassle and all these unexpected expenditures! Stay tuned…
P.S. I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to my niece Mollie, who has written a “grateful” every night for 1,331 nights in a row, never missing one. A “grateful” is a list of things good and bad that she is thankful for that day. She emails this list, which also serves as a communication tool so that her family and friends can see where in the world this Gad-about Gladys is on that day. What I love about this is that even when bad things happen, like a nasty fall she had recently that required stitches, and several days of unaccustomed idleness to recover, she always looks for the positive, and changes the whole situation around with her perspective. She is so wise for her age, and she is right; there is always something to be grateful for.
