Finding Blessings in the Unexpected and Sometimes Irritating.

So the last few months have been a lesson in finding blessing in unexpected ways and being reminded that when you are where the Lord wants you He makes sure you are taken care of. Lets start with the fact that my car is getting old. It will be 9 years old here soon and now has over 98,000 miles on it. It has been a great car, and I love it but as time goes on you have to get some things fixed and it seems that in the last 6 months all of those things have needed fixing. In September I put literally thousands of miles on my car. All were fun, but they add up. Part of all those miles was driving myself to Utah and back one week and this is where the fun begins. The trip was great, the car was fine. I got back to seattle on a saturday and was starting at my new job on Monday. Sunday I spent a lot of time at the hospital with Grandpa and everything was hunky-dory. then on monday i head up to seattle from auburn. As i am getting on to I-405 from SR 167 my instrument panel goes out. Well this had happened before and it was no big deal the car still ran. So i'm driving thinking it will come back at some point. Well i have some extra time so while driving on I-90 i get the idea to pull of and see if i can restart the car and fix the problem for now. Well at the light on the off ramp i turn off the car and she wouldn't turn back on. sad, i know. I had to wait for a tow truck and pay lots of money to get her fixed. But she was back. Then my car got side-swiped while parked at my grandparent's house in a gated community. Nice, no note, no way to find out who did it, i'm stuck covering the cost through my insurance company. then i got new tires and shocks and then just this this last week another problem came up. I had noticed recently that my car was not picking up speed as fast as i would like it too. So last tuesday i had my dad ride in the car and asked him what he thought. He said it was the clutch and that i needed to get it in soon to get it fixed. It just so happened that i was leaving out of town and could have it in the shop on thursday for as long as i was gone. No problem i thought, its still running pretty well and i just have to drive to and from work on wednesday and i'll be golden. Not so fast...I made it to work, no issue, then in the morning i noticed it was harder to drive than normal. but it was cold so i attributed it to that. Safe and sound i got home from Swedish just in time to finish packing and drive to the dealership to get it fixed. Well that is when the fun started. Have you ever tried to drive a car in neutral? I don't suggest it. i pretty much couldn't go any fast than 20 miles and hour and at one point thought i wouldn't make it. this would be a problem because i had a plan to catch. Well i made it and left the keys and my problems with the trusted folks at Bowen Scarf Ford in Kent. A couple hours later at the airport i got a call that my clutch was completely burnt out and that they had to push it in to the bay it wouldn't move from where i parked it. Ooops!

well you may ask where are the blessings? Everywhere. I made it home safely from Utah, driving all by myself. Then i did miss work but nothing too important and they were very understanding. I wasn't near the car or in the car when it got side swiped i was safe. and this last time the car didn't break down on I-5 or in the parking garage at swedish. it waited for me to get to the dealership. Sometimes we have to be reminded about the ways in which the Lord is watching out for each one of us. I learned this lesson very vividly throughout my mission. I learned of His awareness for each and everyone of us, but I think in the last few years i have forgotten them somewhat. I also know that when we are doing what He needs us to be doing He takes care of the rest. Its not always easy, and it may feel like you can't see the blessings but they are there. He promises us that He will always be there sharing the burden, helping us along the way home. At Christmas we get to remember the Savior and all He has done for us. I love Him so much, and feel overwhelmingly blessed and at times unworthy to have the testimony and knowledge i do.