I was driving through Spartenburg. I don't go more than 3 miles over the speed limit. I have not gotten a ticket in more than 10 years and am hoping that that does not change anytime soon. The good thing is that for a little while through Spartenburg, the speed limit is 70 mph. That means that I can stay in the fast lane because few folks go over 70. But then the speed abruptly drops to 60. At that point, everyone ignores the speed limit and goes 70 anyway. Well, everyone but me. Because of that, I needed to cut across 3 lanes of traffic to get to the slow folks lane!
Just as I cut over to the slow lane, I heard a pop and the car started to rattle. I was certain that I popped a tire and pulled straight off the road. As I rattled to a stop, I sighed and got out to check the tires. I was thinking it would be pretty funny for a 5 month pregnant chick to have to change a tire on the side of a highway. And I was pretty thankful that the sun was still up to facilitate this and that I would not have to do it by cell phone light!
But then I checked the tires and they all looked great. Praising the Lord for that, I returned to the car, hoping that the rattle was part of my imagination. Sadly, that was not to be. The car rattled and made some weird blowing noise smelled of burnt stuff. And the shaking was still there. Out of habit, I watched the temperature gauge and watched the car go from normal to close to over heating in no time. I sighed and called Daniel.
Now Daniel was planning to go to practice for his play at the Foothills Playhouse. I was going to be home in time to get the kids and go to church. The Sunday service was canceled and moved to Monday night. But it was not to be. The car was not going far before it would threaten to overheat. I figured that would only make matter worse and decided to stop testing it!
I called Daniel and he packed up the kids to drop off at his parents house. By the grace of God, his parents had just walked in the door when he called. They got settled in and his dad prepared to take the hike to come get me. I could see the sign for exit 66 and knew it would take 35 -40 minutes for them to come get me. I settled in for a nice little wait. Daniel's dad scheduled the tow truck and they got on the road to come over.
I was blessed to be called by some old friends to check on me. They were going to come sit with me, but Daniel and the tow truck were only 5-10 minutes behind them and it made no sense to have them detour. But it meant a lot to have them call.
I said earlier that I was prayed for traveling mercies and even though I broke down, I do not doubt for a minute that God provided. First, I broke down close to home. I have to drive 3 1/2 hours one way to drop Sarah off at our meeting place. This could have happened in North Carolina or when I still had Sarah with me. I count it a blessing that it didn't. Furthermore, I could have been in the fast lane when this happened. The car started slowing rapidly when the pop occurred. It was by the grace of God that I was getting in the slow lane right as all the fun happened. I was also blessed that there was not more traffic. I was hitting Spartenburg right as rush hour was winding up. So through it all, I believe that my prayers were answered. I arrived home safely and that's what I pray for each time I travel. That the kids (if they are with me) and I arrive to our destination and then home safely.
God is so good!
P.S. The picture above is the closest one I could find to where I was on the interstate. I was about 3-4 miles from here.
No comments:
Post a Comment