Monday Memories: So, I was having a bad day...

Hey Everyone! I thought I'd start reposting some of my older posts on Mondays. Hope you enjoy! (From August 19, 2011)

A couple weeks ago I was having a really bad day. I have six boys (and just two girls) and sometimes the testosterone level just gets a little too high for my taste. Anyway, the two youngest boys seemed to be in super-duper hyperactive mode. They were bouncing around the house, loud, and not exactly following my list of things to do. I was getting quite stressed out when a couple of the older boys decided to "get into it." This is actually a rarity around here these days (thank goodness!) so when it happens, especially when I am already stressed, it really wears on me. It was just "one of those days."

On top of all of that, my oldest son's engine has recently died. Never fun. So, that evening he asked if he could use his dad's car or my van to go to church.  I told him he could, and he took the car. (The van is having its own issues since two cars collided in front of me, and then one of them crashed into me, at a four-way stop.)  Anyway, my son got to the church, drove into the parking lot, pulled into his space, and THUD! The bearing or something broke and the car was suddenly on the ground. I don't mean the tires, I mean, you know, the actual frame.  Okay, so now we were down to just my van and my other son's car. (We do have a fifth vehicle, but it's not exactly in road-worthy condition either.)

So, let's just say when I got the call from my son that evening, I was not exactly thrilled with the news. The day was nearly over and I was glad for it. And now this lovely news meant we had to survive with one less vehicle, and it had already been a bit of a challenge with my son's car broken down. Why this?

A little later a light bulb went off in my head. (And, mind you, it was not one of those new screwy mercury-laden ones that can contaminate your home. It was a good old thank-you-Thomas-Edison iridescent bulb.)  I realized that if my son's car had been running he'd have taken his own car and my husband would have taken his car to work the next day.  He drives nearly half an hour to work and at speeds up to 50 MPH.  It might very well have broken down while he was driving and caused an accident.  He and/or others could have been seriously hurt or worse.  Yet the timing was perfect when it broke down at the church.

So, here is what I learned: Sure, not all days are going to be perfect. Actually, none of them are.  Some days are going to bad, and some are going to be downright horrible. But how do you know that your bad day didn't keep you from having a horrible one that day, or the next, or at some other time in the future?  Once my little light bulb went off, I realized that maybe those broken down vehicles may have saved my husband's life.  Of course, maybe everything would have been okay had he taken his car in the morning, but either way, I know that God is Control.  And I wouldn't want it any other way.