Challenges and Blessings

The past couple of weeks we've had some car issues.  It became very evident that one of our vehicles was unsafe to drive, so we took it in to be fixed.  First we took it to a transmission place, because Bill believed that was the problem.  Nope, they said, it must be the alternator, and they didn't do alternators.  So we took it to another place.  After their $125 diagnostic test, nope, they said, it must have something to do with the car's computer.  So we took it to the dealership.  After their diagnostic tests (also for a fee), they said they could fix it for $6000.  WHAT?  Are you kidding me?  So we went to pick it up.  When we arrived, the car wouldn't even start.  Grrrrr.
Fast forward... the car is now fixed (for slightly less than the dealership's offer).  As we drove it home on Thursday, I noticed that nearly every light on the car was out.  When Bill looked it up in the owner's manual, it said that changing the bulbs was so challenging, it only recommended you take the car to the dealership to have it done.  Of course.  But Bill carefully diagnosed what bulbs needed to be changed (no fee involved), and tediously set about replacing them.  Needless to say, this has definitely been a challenge.

Then on Friday I got a call from Lexee.  She had been to the mall with her friend, had stopped by another friend's house on the way home, and now her car wouldn't start.  Bill went to pick her up and check out the car.  He couldn't get it to start.  The engine wouldn't even turn over.  Not a battery problem.  We decided to go pick it up Saturday (after the swim meet), and we would tow it to the shop ourselves.  Grrrrrr. 

When we drove over to tow it, it started, no problem.  Blessing.  

Yesterday, as we returned home from church, we were greeted with a beeping sound.  It was the oven.  It had a "code."  I dug out the manual, which said, "Disconnect all power to the oven for at least 30 seconds and then reconnect the power.  If the function code repeats, call for service."  Since we discovered that our oven doesn't have a plug (I didn't know that... did you?), Bill headed out to flip the switch in the power box.  The switch labeled "oven" didn't go to the oven.  So we powered down the entire house.  Once the power was back on, within minutes the function code returned.  Grrrrr.  And not only did it return, the steady beeping of the alarm would go off within 2 minutes following a manual "clear."  Challenge.

Luckily, the dinner I had planned only required the grill on the patio and a rice cooker.  Blessing.

I will be calling for service this morning because the oven is randomly doing the craziest things.  Maybe by so doing I will prevent a fire.  Save a life.  I'm sure there's a blessing in this somewhere.

And this morning I had to get my girls to different places at the same time.  Challenge.

Mauri needed to go to swim practice, Lex and Shi needed to be at the church for Youth Conference.  There was a little tension as we headed out the door (especially when I asked Lex for her phone, which leaders had asked to be left at home).

But the girls all made it where they needed to be, and Lexee was smiling.  Blessing.

Later, when I got home from picking Mauri and Lauren up from swim practice, we were met with a locked garage-to-house door.  I don't have a house key on my key ring, because we never lock that door.  On occasion the door will lock itself (seriously), and this was such an occasion.  Challenge.

Thankfully, I had opened the back patio door to let in the cool morning air before heading out to pick the girls up.  This isn't something I usually do, so it was definitely a blessing that I happened to do it this morning.

I love this quote by Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, 

"Adversity, if handled correctly, can be a blessing in our lives.  We can learn to love it."

He also said,  "The next time you're tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead.  It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable."

I'm going to try to keep that in mind (and hope that we're done with the stuff-breaking-down challenges for a while).