Road Trip Miracles

Sloppily written...but gets the job done.

I went to Mississippi for the weekend and on my way home, between Bolivar and Jackson TN, my car died. I didn't have cell service so all I could do was pray that someone would stop to help me. I popped the hood and stood staring at it, praying that whoever stopped would be a mechanic. Toby, a DCS worker in Jackson, saw me break down and turned around to help me out. Thinking it was the alternator, he said he'd install a new one for me if that was the case. So after jump-starting the car 3 times we were able to drive it back to Bolivar to an Auto parts store.

The car died again as I pulled into the parking lot so I coasted to a spot. After determining that indeed, the alternator was dead and this auto store didn't have a new one, we took Toby's truck (I completely trusted him at this point) to the Auto Zone that he used to manage down the road. On the way I found out he works on stereos as a hobby. Interestingly, my car radio works but the CD player has been broken so I mentioned it to him. He reached under the seat of his truck and pulled out not one, but two new CD players that he happened to have in his truck.

He then proceeded to install my new alternator. After that, he checked out my CD player and before I knew it, he was taking out my old one and installing a new one - refusing to let me buy the new one from him. He didn't allow me to pay him, or buy him dinner, he just took care of me. And our conversation leaves me confident that it wasn't because he was hoping to get something else out of the deal.

As I was driving the rest of the way home, feeling very loved and acknowledged by God, I thought "I am a really healthy, whole person. I like that and I'm glad to finally feel that again." The next thought that went through my head was, "wait. yesterday I wasn't." Although Toby's kindness gave me encouragement and comfort that I am not alone, I am still not whole. I'm still completely screwed up, broken, and empty. Wholeness only comes through Christ every single day, I'm always going to be a mess no matter what I do. And...that's where I'm at today.

World Map

I stole this off of Eric's blog. I don't think I even need to comment. It speaks for itself.

New Job

Yes, that's right. On Monday, I start a new job!! It's been a long, tiring process trying to find a job since I left the CCCU last July.
Friday is my last day at Applebee's. I can't say enough how glad I am for the
experience, and even more glad that it's over. Ta-ta!

Monday I will be the new Care Coordinator with Catholic Charities in TN. I will be working in the Bridges to Care program, assisting uninsured folks with finding health care. To top it off, I will get to use some mad Spanish-speaking skills.

It's been almost a year since I've been in the "professional" field. Please pray for me on Monday! Thanks!

Our Great Savior

I love reading hymns and digging deeper into their meanings. This one sunk deep into my heart yesterday as I was in the midst of dealing with my own inadequacies.

Our Great Savior
J. Wilbur Chapman

Jesus! what a Friend for sinners!
Jesus! Lover of my soul;
Friends may fail me, foes assail me,
He, my Savior, makes me whole.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Jesus! what a Strength in weakness!
Let me hide myself in Him.
Tempted, tried, and sometimes failing,
He, my Strength, my victory wins.

Jesus! what a Help in sorrow!
While the billows over me roll,
Even when my heart is breaking,
He, my Comfort, helps my soul.

Jesus! what a Guide and Keeper!
While the tempest still is high,
Storms about me, night overtakes me,
He, my Pilot, hears my cry.

Jesus! I do now receive Him,
More than all in Him I find.
He hath granted me forgiveness,
I am His, and He is mine.

Hallelujah! what a Savior!
Hallelujah! what a Friend!
Saving, helping, keeping, loving,
He is with me to the end.

Rodeo

I went to my first rodeo. Enjoy the photos!

Photos!!

I'm a little behind on the times. These photos are over a month old. But as they say, "better late than never".

Trust

Trust

It's like so many other things in life
to which you must say no or yes.
So you take your car to the new mechanic.
Sometimes the best thing to do is trust.

The package left with the disreputable-looking
clerk, the check gulped by the night deposit,
the envelope passed by dozens of strangers—
all show up at their intended destinations.

The theft that could have happened doesn't.
Wind finally gets where it was going
through the snowy trees, and the river, even
when frozen, arrives at the right place.

And sometimes you sense how faithfully your life
is delivered, even though you can't read the address.

-Thomas R. Smith, from Waking before Dawn.

Thanks, Sarah.