Avoiding those unfortunate occurrences!

So today, as we were leaving the car to go in to breakfast, Ken stopped short and started looking closely at the front tire of his car.  He slowly made his way around to the other side and looked at that front tire also.  There was a really big bulge on the driver side and a smaller bump on the passenger side tire.  His car is only a year old and has less than 20,000 miles on it.  We had talked about replacing the tires before next winter since the stock tires had not been very good in the snow.  But this was really unexpected.  So, off we went to have two new tires put on the front of his car.  Not exactly what we had wanted to do with $350, but given the way those tires looked, not much of a choice!

And here's the thing!  Next Sunday we are leaving for a LONG driving trip - in that car.  I am so thankful that Ken noticed that tire lump and we were able to get it new tires quickly and relatively painlessly (except, of course, for the cost).  It could have been a very complicated thing to find tires on the road, and who knows exactly where we might have been when we had a blow out.  Don't you just love how Jesus takes care of everything?  Even this kind of stuff.  I had just been praying yesterday and asking for extra grace and guidance as we begin to pack for this two weeks away.  I am always afraid of forgetting something or missing something when we are going away.  A bit of a complication is that I am going to be gone an extra couple of days BEFORE we leave, since it is a much anticipated scrapping weekend for me!  But that also means that I have to pack two different suitcases and plan for extra days of clothes and stuff.  Plus I have to have all my scrap stuff ready to go.  I know that I was not thinking about needing new tires when I prayed.  I had asked Ken if we needed to do anything with his car, and he had said "No!  It's good to go!"  Little did he know that the next day we would be replacing the tires. 

I love that I can sit back, take a deep breath, and know that all of the little details will work out for this trip.  What a difference it makes to know that a really nasty thing has been avoided.  I am thankful for all of the times that Jesus takes care of things, even when I never know it!  It is quite a comfort to rest in the care of the Holy Spirit. 

This is my encouragement to you to trust Jesus more for all those nagging little things.  Sometimes it is easy to trust for the BIG stuff, but we forget the small.  And the good news is that Jesus really does care about everything that is important to us.  Trust that he will be working in each one of those little situations, every small event, or all of those daily things that can sometimes unnerve us.  I, for one, will be looking at this next week through very different eyes! 

Jesus, thank you for your great care and love for us.  Holy Spirit, thank you for that nudge you gave to Ken to check those tires!  Jesus, thank you for reminding me that you do care about the details of our life and you are watching over us in all things.  Thank you for your care that keeps us out of those unfortunate occurrences! Amen