Blessings With Car Troubles

My son and I were traveling to an out-of-state college recently. I drove the family van, and he followed in his truck.

We had arrived at our halfway point at 3:00 am the night before, and we were up again at 8:00 am to finish the trip. After a quick stop, when we had been on the road for a couple of hours, I noticed my son pull onto the highway shoulder. He called to tell me the truck was overheating.

At that point, I could have gotten very frustrated. We still had many miles to go, we were far from home, and this was an inconvenient delay. I was exhausted from the long drive the day before.

In the past, I would have reacted negatively. However, I have been working on improving my attitude and choosing gratitude for the things that are going right.

Finding the Blessings in the Breakdown

Even in this stressful situation, I realized there were many blessings:

1. Early detection: My son noticed the hot engine temperature gauge in time. We caught the issue before the engine was damaged.
2. Perfect timing: We broke down between two closely spaced exits. Both exits had stores where I could buy antifreeze.
3. Good weather: Shortly after, it began to rain heavily. The breakdown happened while it was still dry, making the repair much easier.
4. No midnight crisis: The truck did not overheat at 2:00 am when we were exhausted and trying to reach our hotel.
5. No rush: We left early to accommodate potential problems, so we did not have to rush the repair.
6. Built-in help: This did not happen after I left him at college. I was right there to help him fix it.
7. Abundance: My son has a working vehicle in the first place, which is a major blessing.

Controlling Our Response

We cannot control most of the events in our lives, but we can always control our attitude about those events.

We can focus on the bad, or we can choose to see the good. At the very least, we can appreciate how much worse things could have been.

This is the attitude the apostle James describes when he urges us to find joy in trials:

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” (See James 1:2-4)

The Fruits of Life’s Obstacles

The problems we endure teach us valuable lessons if we are willing to listen:

• They make us wiser for future planning.
• They give us the experience needed to help others facing similar trials.
• They teach us to depend on God rather than our own strength.

My positive reaction to this car trouble was a learned response. I have not always reacted well to obstacles. But I have realized that obstacles will come regardless of my attitude.

Why not face them with trust in God’s care, looking for the best, and working to solve the issue? When we choose a positive attitude, we realize just how blessed we are—even when we are stuck on the side of the road.