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Every Little Thing by April Jeppson

Where did I leave off?

I believe I was telling you all how important it is to really take time and recharge. I was so excited for an overnight trip to see my best friend. We were going to get sushi, relax and make fun of the ridiculous clothes they sell at Target. The first half of the trip was exactly as planned and exactly what I needed. But by Saturday after lunch, I could feel all the energy that had been replenished slowly start to drain out of me like a sieve.

I was having car trouble. I’m 2 1/2 hours from home and a sensor on my car goes off. The last time this happened my vehicle went haywire for two seconds and then everything just shut down. The last time this happened, I was in the comfort of my hometown, and a tow truck was an easy solution. So, when I saw the battery light go on while I was in the midst of three lanes of traffic, I knew this was not something to mess around with.

My friend followed me to the closest auto place. They had time to swap a battery, but neither the equipment nor time to look at the alternator. After a few phone calls, there was no one that could help us until at least the next day. We weren’t planning on staying a second night. Honestly, at this point, I just wanted to get home as quickly as possible. After some discussion, Google searches and a phone call to a dad we decided to get a fresh battery and get home before dark. I’m happy to report, I made it home safely that night.

The next morning, I woke up to a major sinus cold and a sump pump that was no longer working. With all the snow melting this past week, the water was starting to enter our basement. So instead of having a nice, relaxing Sunday at church and with my family, I slept the majority of the day and waited on a plumber who could help us out. By the time we were sitting down to dinner, he was finally done.

Monday afternoon on my way to coach gymnastics, my battery light popped on again. Full of Dayquil and anxiety, I had a co-worker follow me to the mechanic. It was the alternator. It is still under warranty. However, they can’t fix it till next week. Well, that’s not going to work. See the thing is, we’re planning on driving this vehicle cross country in a few days. This entire time I’ve been planning our first major family vacation, and now I’m not sure how on earth we’re supposed to get from point A to point B.

I might have sounded like a crazy person that day, telling the nice worker on the phone that they will get my car fixed this week. I’m pretty sure my eye twitched. So, I formally apologize to anyone who may have gotten the side effects of extremely stressed-out April. Good news is, Wednesday night my van was safely back in my driveway.

Those five days were beyond stressful. The amount of planning, guessing, research and praying. Car trouble stinks. House problems stink. Being sick stinks. Wrap those all up the week before a major trip with three kids, and I about lost my cool. Even through all the crazy, I knew that it would all work out. One way or another, I’d figure it out. I kept telling myself, I’m so thankful this is happening now and not next week when we’re out of town.

Imagine that. Having a cold your entire vacation. Being 1,000 miles from home and your car spontaneously dies on the side of the road. Coming home to water in your basement that’s been sitting there for who knows how long. Now, that would have been horrible.

Bad things happen. They happen to good people, and they happen to bad people. Bad things happen all the time, and there is no escaping them. “Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you’re a good person is like expecting a bull not to attack you because you’re a vegetarian.” — Dennis Wholey

However, I do believe in a God that loves us and watches out for us. He knew about my sump pump and my alternator before I did. He knew they needed to be replaced. I’m convinced he gave them a nudge so that they could get replaced before we left. Life is hard sometimes, but God is always good. It was a stressful week, but it could have been so much worse.

Albert Lean April Jeppson is a wife, mom, coach and encourager of dreams. Her column appears every Saturday.