I Cried, I Laughed...

I know that's not how the saying goes, but that's how my life went last week.
The Bible assures us that God works all things together for good for those who love Him, but it still always AMAZES me how God does that...

Eric's motorcycle was totaled by insurance.(blog more on that later)
Then, when I didn't have anything pressing to worry about I stressed for TWO HOURS about whether or not I was being a good steward of of our money by buying the pre-sliced cheese rather than the brick!
(Tillamook, of course. Praise the Lord at least I can get cheese from home!)

After a call to a girlfriend and a reality check, I added the sliced cheese to my mini list for Costco. When I got there.. you know what? There was an 80 cent difference in price. EIGHTY CENTS! Absolutely not worth my anguish over it and DEFINITELY worth the price. Now...some of you may be saying, 'why in the world does she need sliced cheese and why is it that big of a deal?' Well...it's not just about having the energy to slice the cheese. It's washing the knife and board and getting up again and again for the requests of another slice. It's about the fact that the kids can get their own cheese!! And I don't even have to get up when I am not feeling well. It is a BIG deal in the household where cheese is a staple. I think God is OK with my sliced cheese purchase =)

I even got out of Costco for UNDER $24! That should be on my miracle list for this week too. Not only the money I spent, but what I got for that money... 2lbs of really good sliced cheese, 60 sticks of string cheese, 2 loaves of bread, one gallon of whole milk, 40 small flour tortillas, and 12 HUGE muffins (read: individual chocolate cakes - I was needing a chocolate fix the other night and no way to satisfy it. I now have many 'little cakes', individually wrapped and frozen for when the need arises!)
Anyway...I am impressed with myself!

Now to the laughing and crying portion of my story.
We had just found out that the bike was totaled. Eric and I were carpooling - AGAIN - and I arrive to pick Eric up from work Wednesday evening when the air conditioner STOPS working! (enter the waterworks. NOT handling this well. Or should I say, freely expressing my emotions via my tear ducts?)
Perhaps some of you are thinking, 'so? roll down the windows'. Um, NO. Not when it is still in the upper 90's and your daughter has a heat intolerance. Even going 70 mph down the freeway (which is the speed limit here) it was simply loud, HOT air and not a cooling option at all.
So...into the shop it goes.
I debate on whether this was desperation here or faith. We had ABSOLUTELY no money to fix it. NONE. But..what were the options?? Perhaps it was as simple as needing more freon. (but I knew then it wasn't going to be that simple)
4 hours into the diagnostic stage and our grand total for non-optional items on the van??? $3700. YIKES!!
This is where the laughing comes in - or thereabouts...
I spent TWO HOURS on Tuesday stressing about an 80 cent difference in cheese and now I have $3700 worth of repairs needed on the van. I think God was enjoying this too, really. Like, 'Triann, spend the money on the cheese that makes your life easier right now and we'll tackle the bigger things together, OK?'
Another MIRACLE was that I didn't cry at all Thursday. I think I was somewhat 'pre-pared' for the fact that it wasn't going to be good news.
There was a laundry list of items, including the compressor, cooling fan, etc for the AC to work again ($2600) and the brakes - which we already knew were an issue, but were kind of ignoring (the whole money thing), plus power steering issues, etc. Now, before you think we drive a junker car and should just replace it...we have a mini-van I love! It is a 2003 Honda Odyssey. Perfect for the family and all of Emily's medical equipment (wheelchair, mobile stander, etc) We have put 135,000 miles on it and we intend to drive until we can afford a conversion van (or until one just shows up in our driveway =) We purchased the van with the expectation of driving well past the 200,000 mile mark. We have sold several Hondas throughout our married life with over 250,000 miles on them and they were still great cars. Anyway...the money we are investing in repairs far outweigh trying to go down another path. Am I really rationalizing with people I may not even know? I am going to require more counseling for this ;)

Back to my story.
Eric has a very small 'silent' partner interest in a business he helped put together when Emily was a toddler. Typically, he would get a payout at the end of the year. Because of our situation, our dear friend offered to give him an advance on his earnings to help pay for the repairs. GOD ROCKS!!!
Our AC repair was going to be $2600. At this point we have ZERO vehicles and ZERO dollars. Not really workin' for us.
Eric's advance was $2200! REALLY close, but still $400 shy of what we needed. What to do??
I called the shop and spoke with the gentleman who had been helping us and basically said - here's what I've got. I understand that brakes are also a high priority, but I HAVE to have a vehicle and AC takes top spot at the moment. There was a lot more rambling, but I'll spare you.

Now, had this been December, we could have gone with a different order for our top five - but not early September in Texas!!
He puts me on hold and comes back and says they can do the job for $2295. AWESOME! Still nearly $100 short, but a lot closer to the money we had *pending* in the bank. He said, "I actually was able to bring it down to $3010, but $2295 sounds better"
My reply was to let him know I would call my folks and beg them for the other $100 I needed to get my van back on the road for the moment.
The next words out of his mouth were "don't do anything yet - I'll call you back in fifteen minutes"

I want to insert that I wouldn't actually have to beg, I just REALLY didn't want to call my folks and ask for MORE help. They buy the kids clothes and shoes, and help out in numerous ways. I was dreading it. Mainly because it makes me feel icky, not because I thought I would have to grovel.

Less than five minutes later he calls me back and says, "I'm about to be your new best friend, how does $2175 sound?"
Sounds like the miracle we have been praying for!!
And I responded with something along those lines in addition to profuse thank yous. Then he says, "I just HATE having to ask my parents for money, I didn't want you to have to do that" Awesome! Obviously God knew the words I needed to speak, because normally I wouldn't have wanted to admit that either. I am certain with the economy and lay-offs right now they have all sorts of negotiating and sob stories coming in. I really wasn't trying to barter anything, I was just giving the guy the truth - here's what I've got. And I didn't even attempt to go into our saga.
Whether this young man is a Christian or not, God used him to bless our family.
How AWESOME is that??

I called Eric to tell him the good news and proudly told him "I didn't even have to cry!" Which is hilarious. One of my earlier posts I talk about how I was NEVER a crier. Now I'm a cry-baby.

Lunch while waiting for car diagnostics: $3.78
Ac Repair Estimate:$2600
Not crying about it: Priceless

Couldn't help myself! =)

If you think this is the end of our crazy week, you haven't been following us long!
Stay tuned for more exciting episodes in the Benson's life of Faith and Drama!