This morning I crawled out of bed after hitting the snooze button for the sixth time and finally relenting to the pull of the day. I dragged myself into the bathroom and observed in the mirror the puffy eyes from my too-much-work/not-enough-sleep syndrome. Getting dressed quickly I decided to hold breakfast until I got back from my walk with my friend, Tammy. When my daughter was ready we left early hoping to take a more leisurely pace to the church.

We got a block or two from our house and were heading up one of several big hills, that are par-the-course regardless of what route we choose from our place, when the van's engine cut out. I managed to pull to the side of the road with the hazard lights. Then, I tried time and again to fire up the ignition but the van wouldn't cooperate. Finally, we got a spark and I was able to manuveour the van in reverse down the hill to a flatter area where I could put it in drive and head back home. The van sputtered and coughed it's way down the two blocks and I was never so relieved to pull into the driveway. The check engine light came on and I cheered. Apparently all the signs that the van has been showing me over the past week have finally culminated in a problem being identified by the van itself. (See hubby! It wasn't all in my head!)

Still... I find it ironic that just last night I was posting about waiting to see how God would find me some quiet time. And, here I have it. I can't go anywhere. There are lots of little chores that could have taken me in fifty directions today, but all of them are put on the back burner until my husband returns late tonight. In the meantime...how will I make the best use of this gift of time?

A wonderful aside to the story: One of the ladies from VBS volunteered to come and pick up my daughter . So...her initial disappointed and gracious acceptance of the situation was rewarded in a big way. God sure came through for her today and she feels very blessed.