God Provides

This past weekend, we planned to make a quick visit to Madison and Milwaukee to witness a family baptism. Saturday morning, we awoke to find a windstorm had blown down a tree onto our van, and the van battery was dead. Matt, my husband, was able to jump the van to get it started. We drove about 3 hours and stopped at a remote park for a picnic lunch and to stretch our legs.

About an hour later, we loaded back into our van, and once again, it wouldn’t start. Matt tried to use the same battery pack to jump it, but this time it didn’t work.

Lo and behold, a wedding party pulled up at the park, and could you believe it: the groomsmen were all mechanics? As the groomsmen were waiting for their call for photos, they noticed the hood raised on our van. Two of the guys immediately offered to help. They moved their vehicle next to our van and connected jumper cables. When that didn’t work, one guy called the local auto parts shop and ordered a new battery for us. Before they left for the wedding, that same guy left his tools so Matt could remove the old battery and install a new one. Now Matt just needed a ride to the auto parts shop.

Matt caught the eye of another guy at the park. His name was Hunter. At first, he was hesitant to give Matt a ride, but soon they were off. As they drove, Matt listened to Hunter as he shared some struggles he was currently facing. They shopped around looking for the best price for a new battery and ended up back at the same place the mechanic had originally recommended. Matt filled up Hunter’s car with gas so that he could visit his brother in a neighboring town. Then they returned to the park and installed the new battery. The van started, and we continued our drive. A few hours late,r we arrived safely in Madison. As soon as we turned off the van, it wouldn’t start. Even with a brand new battery?! Uncle Adam happened to have a spare battery for our van’s key fob, but sadly, that didn’t get the van to start.

The next morning was Arlo’s Baptism, and the church was about 90 miles away. Auntie Brittany generously loaned us her van for the day. What a glorious celebration to witness Katie’s godfather baptize little Arlo! He is the 28th child to be baptized in a gown made from Grandma Josephine’s wedding dress.

Monday morning, Matt called three mechanics and found one with an opening to take a look at our van. He cleaned the contacts on the new battery and got the van to start. At least we didn’t have to call for a tow truck. Matt prayed that a virtuous man could repair our van swiftly. In a couple of hours, our van was up and running. Matt thanked the mechanic. His name was Joseph.

Today, we received a message from a friend at our parish in Wisconsin. This week, a donation came in for a Human Concerns need. This friend had heard about our van trouble and designated that donation for our family. The amount of that donation matches the bill from the mechanic. God is so good!