Counting my blessings

Whew, what a day I had yesterday!

On my way to work, I was talking to my dad and pulling off the highway to a town when my car suddenly stopped and steam started pouring out from under the hood.

I glanced at my gauges and saw the needle on the temperature gauge was off the charts.

In my cream-colored coat and cream dress pants, I grabbed my tools and tried to open my hood - which was stuck - so I could try to add antifreeze to my car. Someone stopped and helped me open my hood and drove me to a nearby coop repair station, and they towed my car in.

Long story short, I had a four-hour break from work as I tried to figure out what to do with my car, and finally got a ride home from Nate while my car stayed there. I'm still waiting on a friend's brother to check it over and either decide to fix it or just tow it home and try to sell it as a parts car or major fixer-upper.

However crazy the day was, and however crazy life will be coming up as we try to figure out what to do for a new car, the day made me thankful for a lot of things. It makes hard situations better when you think of all the good things instead of all the bad.

1. I was thankful I could talk to my dad, who is great with cars, to figure out how to go about fixing the car and what decisions to make regarding whether to fix it or give up on it since I've had it since I was 16.
2. I was thankful for the opposite schedules that Nate and I have so that he could come get me and since he wasn't at work.
3. I was thankful for flexible work that I didn't have to worry about not making my weekly meeting and taking a few hours in the middle of the day.
4. I was thankful I didn't have to spend 600-700 to fix the car immediately because I am blessed enough that purchasing a car in the nearby future is an OK option.
5. I was thankful Nate has a car that I could borrow to finish up work last night after I got home, that we can share in the immediate future.
6. I was thankful for a friend I could call who has a brother that could check over my car and tow it for less than other companies.

I used to freak out in situations like this, but I'm thankful that I can see God working and that I have realized that I can't control everything. I think I'm going to have to start initiating this counting my blessings in every situation!