Day 90: An alternator

We were headed west through the mountains, needing to make a two-hour drive. Not far into the trip, I saw the battery light come on. Normally, this is something I ignore. I know that makes me a horrible car owner, but it's true.

However, there were four kids in the van at the time, and Mary. So we had to check it out. Figuring it was a battery slowly dying, we started looking for a mechanic's shop to confirm this. The first two we tried were closed. At the third one, in Aspen Park, Colo., the owner shook his head. "It's the alternator. It's dying on you," he said.

This was a whole new proposition. We were praying by this point. It was getting late in the afternoon on a Saturday. The first two alternatives weren't pleasant ones. Trying to make it back to Denver was the first. Our new mechanic couldn't assure us we'd make it. And if we did, we'd have to find a place to fix it on a Sunday.

The second alternative was to wait on him to fix it. That wouldn't be until the next day. We didn't like this one either.

So I asked again if he could fix it that day. He sighed. He had a lot of work to do. But I could tell he didn't want to pass up this job, which was a pretty good sized one for the last minute. So he went inside to make some calls, to see if anyone in Aspen Park had an alternator for a 2005 Grand Caravan. "You're in luck," he said when he emerged from his shop.

So we spent the next three and a half hours in a restaurant about two blocks away. I sat and marveled at my wife's ability to cope with this fact, entertaining four kids -- one of whom is a restless two-year-old boy.

Finally, the van was done. And somebody was going to get a prayer. The owner was busy as I was paying the tab, so his employee, a 30-something guy named Brad, looked at me with a little smile when I asked my question. I told him I really wanted to pray for him after what he and his employer were able to accomplish for our family that night. He hesitated only a little and then said "yes."

So I prayed for him in his work, and for his boss. And when we left, we continued to thank Jesus for his provision in our lives.