Shooting the Rapids in the River of Life

Ok, we're in for a wild ride. Our 2001 Saturn, for which we still owe almost all the final year of a three-year payment plan, has been leaking coolant for a week or so. This morning, we found out we have a cracked block and water has seeped into our oil and our engine is shot.

Of course, we cannot afford the $1500 or so for a new engine, and we still owe that final year on the payments.

My middle-aged "nephew" is a cup-half-empty person and I'm a cup-half-full person, so I began looking at our options.

We'll try taking the car back to the lot where we bought it, sometime this week. We do not expect any help there. They surely will not just fix it, not after we've had it for 2 years - that's the nature of a used car purchase. They are not likely to let us trade for another on the lot without our going back into a new three-year plan and with a possibly higher monthly payment. They are most likely to plan to repossess it and go after us for the balance. Our credit is already shot so that cannot hurt us as much as it would most folks. Still, I really hate to have this happen.

We also need transportation. For the next few days or weeks, until we find another vehicle, somehow, we'll be begging and borrowing rides from friends and neighbors. We also have a fellow here in our mobile home community who gives rides for a small fee. Neither Frank nor I are physically able to walk to the bus stop, so that is out.

We definitely do not have down payment money for another commercially-sold car.

And, next week is when my SSA comes in, all of it allocated to bills and I need to get around to pay those bills on time. We have been very good these past few months about keeping late fees out of the mix.

So, I suppose what I am asking, in a roundabout way, is can you all please add our name to your current prayer list? It would be very much appreciated. We are mostly praying for clarity of mind so that we can make the right move at the right time.

I have been around long enough to know that the Lord always has something in mind. Even at its darkest, it is often the moment when God is shifting gears for us and we'll just ride this out.

Father, plain and simple, we trust in you.