How Do They Do It?

I know you have heard people who know and trust the Lord say about those who don't, "I don't know how they survive this situation...."

Well, to be honest-I truly don't know how they do it either.

My family has been blessed with 5, yes 5 (a whole fleet) of used vehicles. Sometimes I begin to feel guilty. I have been to Jamaica and seen family after family that don't have the first one, and yet all three of my kids have one as do my wife and I.

Now, before you jump to conclusions-these are all "pre-owned" vehicles. One of our vehicles came from the J103 auction (the Kia), and the car Trevor is driving was purchased this summer for $600. We have never purchased a brand new vehicle, which saves us money, but can also cause headaches when they start to break down.

Which brings me to the point of this blog post-Out of our 5 vehicles, there is only one currently with no mechanical issues. Three days before Lauren left for Bryan College, she came driving back into the neighborhood leaving a trail of transmission fluid. It is now parked in our garage until we can save up enough money to get it fixed. She took the Kia to Bryan, and it did fine until she began going up the hill into the campus-the check engine light began flashing. Wanting our daughter to have a dependable car we had her take it to a great mechanic there in Dayton, (he listens to J103!!!!), It is currently being repaired with new spark plugs, wires, boots and thermostat.

The "check engine" light has been on in my Durango for about a week and a half-taking that to Advance Auto Parts to get checked out today. Yesterday we were waiting on the boys to get home from cross country practice and Trevor called saying his Nissan just died. I took off, we got it started and home. I did what little automotive I knew to do (and that was very little) and we got it going.

Through it all-I have a peace that, even with a real tight budget-God is the Great Provider! "I don't know how people without that trust in Jesus would handle stress like this?"

Have you had a struggle you went through where you thought the same thing?