I got off of work a little after 10 o'clock and my car was one of the only ones left in the mall parking lot. I climbed in and stuck my key in the ignition.... Silence. I tried again.... not even one click came from my engine. My lights worked just fine and my radio could turn on so I knew it wasn't my battery. I tried one more time.... not a sound. So I called my husband to come rescue me. After looking over my car for a while, we decided there was nothing we could do. We drove home in silence. Both of us were frustrated. Now we had TWO cars that weren't working properly. We were trying to figure out how we were going to afford fixing the car. Last month we dropped nearly $1200 on much needed repairs to G's car. This completely wiped out what was left in our "just in case" car fund. (aka my tax return) Tension was high as made cold cereal for dinner. We ate in silence. I climbed into bed pulled up the covers and tried to close my eyes and leave today behind. That's when G came in the room and pulled out our scriptures.
Miracle number one: Reading the Book of Mormon daily strengthens a marriage.
Within two words of the first verse I could feel the tension melt away. By the end of the chapter we were snuggling and smiling. One piece of advice you hear a thousand times when getting married is "Never go to bed angry at each other." I strongly suggest reading the Book of Mormon as an answer to that problem. When we were done reading I was reminded why I love G so much.
Miracle number two: Prayers are heard.
G offered our family prayer when we were done reading our scriptures. I heard him humbly ask for blessings on our family both extended and immediate. He thanked the Lord for our blessings. Then he asked for a blessing on my car. Not that it would be miraculously fixed or that we wouldn't have to pay for anything, just asked for a blessing on my car.
Miracle number three: The Lord answers prayers in strange ways.
After he prayed we tried to go to bed. I couldn't get something off my mind tho. I kept thinking about my pendleton wool blanket my mom gave us as a wedding gift. I knew it was in the back of my car. Suddenly my thoughts ran to Is someone going to break into my car and steal it? and Maybe my car is going to be towed for parking over-night and my stuff will be lost! I voiced my concerns to G and he offered to drive me up to my car again so I could empty it of its contents just in case. So at five after midnight we drove back to the Mall. When we got up there G suggested we try starting my car again. We tried with no luck. Then I noticed that my car was parked in the darkest corner of the parking lot. And that a good 500 yards (1/3 mile) away there were still many cars. This is where the parking lot for the mall meets the parking lot to the movie theatre apparently not all the movies were done for the night. We thought if we could just push my car towards those cars it could blend in better. So we got out and pushed. and pushed. and pushed. When we finally finished I tiredly pulled the key out of the ignition, ready to go home. Then G asked one more time for us to try starting my car. I turned the key and... click click... Vavoom!!! The engine started!! When we were pushing the car it did something that allowed us to start the engine!! I drove home quickly before it decided to die on us again.
Conclusion: Ether 12:6 says
... I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.
The Lord will always hear and answer our prayers. He knows our situation in life. And he knows what we can and cannot handle. But it is only AFTER the trial of our faith that we receive our blessings. G had faith and trusted that the Lord would take care of our car. I trust G. We pushed my car across an entire parking lot based on that belief. (although I will admit it was much easier than pushing a handcart across the plains) The Lord loves us. I hope you can hear the truth of my words.
I loved this post. I know prayers are answered, especially when we listen to the little promptings, and you both had a few of those. Good luck with the cars. They can be such a headache!
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