God and Cars

I have been sharing about how God has been teaching my husband and I about perseverance. First with my job, then with our church, and now with our car.

So, here's the story:

Dan, my beloved husband, was gearing up to do some routine maintenance on our car last Saturday. In order to keep our stylish 1995 Buick LeSabre looking as good as she does, we have to stay on top of that type of thing. ;-)

He started with the spark plugs. We removed the first one with ease and found it to be in good condition. After reinstalling the first spark plug, we checked the second with equal success. When Dan began applying torque to the third spark plug, he was met with a large amount of resistance, and although the spark plug broke into a few pieces, we were able to remove it completely and replace it with a new one that cost $1.49. No big loss there.

The true excitement was yet to be had.

The fourth spark plug proved to give more resistance than its three predecessors, and after extensive effort with the socket wrench, we heard the sound of the spark plug breaking into small pieces that fell melodically onto the asphalt. Upon inspection, we discovered that the external components of the spark plug were broken off, and we had half of the plug in our engine with no way to grab hold of it from the outside. After doing some research online and consulting with the nice gentleman at the auto parts store, we discovered that in fact there was a solution to our dilemma ("EZ outs" are a true gift from God). At this point it was 8pm on Saturday evening, but after a bit more effort, we were able to remove the spark plug and replace it with a new one.

While combating our spark plug problem, Dan had noticed that our overflow tank for our refrigerant was empty. Thinking little of it, we filled the radiator and the overflow tank with water until it reached a suitable fluid level. Dan had intentions of flushing the radiator within a few days as it was, so we weren't eager to find a permanent solution right then.

The next morning, however, we ventured outside and examined our engine. We discovered that all the water we had put in the car the day before had leaked out into our alley. Again, after some investigation, Dan determined that the culprit was our water pump, which had sprung a leak and was in need of replacement.

After making this discovery, it took about 25 hours of research, shopping for supplies, and actual labor to complete the job. Dan made a huge sacrifice as he worked diligently and without complaint, doing his best to repair our vehicle.

There were several moments when I think both Dan and I were ready to give up and call a professional. Thankfully, though, Dan persevered, and the Lord rewarded us for it. Our car is now working much better than it was before.

This is just another example of God showing His goodness and divine sovereignty even when the going gets rough. He is faithful beyond measure. He will equip us to do His will, whether that be directly ministering to another person or simply repairing our car.