Thankful List Weekend Edition

 I feel like so much happened this past week. On Wednesday, I was driving to the vax site and as I was getting off the highway, noticed the temperature probe inching up past the median. The instant I saw this, my stomach did a flip and I immediately let out an f-bomb. Back in November, I sank $900 resolving this issue and during that time, my dear mechanic called me after installing a new radiator and temp. sensor probe saying that if I ran into this issue again within a 90-day timeframe, it was most likely due to the head gasket and that this was a major issue that wasn't worth my time or energy in getting fixed (not to mention cost). He straight up told me: "Grace, if the head gasket blows out then you can't even sell your car for parts. If that temp. probe goes up again, it's time to say bye to your car and part ways." I took his words to heart and made note of what he shared with me. Well, fast forward not even 90 days to this past Wednesday. I somehow got my car to the parking lot of the vax site and at that point, noticed a faint burning smell. So began my scramble to sell my car and start the process of buying a new one. My stress level rose multiple notches this past week; regardless, I totally saw the Lord provide for me in ways unimaginable and provide multiple joyous moments shared with my community. 

On Friday, multiple prayers were answered. The title of the car was express shipped to Michael's house and ended up arriving just in time. I was able to get my mom to sign a POA and get it notarized. I drove my car up to the CarMax in Glencoe and didn't have any major issues getting it up there. The actual drive up was pretty pleasant, actually.  I was so thankful because Michael drove all the way up to help me sell my car and we were both totally surprised and caught off guard when the CarMax employee offered us $1,200 for the car. I tried to haggle for a minute or two but quickly rolled over because let's be real, I should have probably gotten way less for my car. All in all, I'm so thankful for how smoothly things went at CarMax - like I walked out feeling weightless. Here are some other things I'm thankful for: 

-Friday dinner with Justice, Michael, Julian, Janet 

-Julian, Janet, Michael came along with me and spent pretty much all day Saturday checking out various Toyota dealerships - I felt SO incredibly loved and overall, it was just a really fun day with friends test driving cars and getting lunch/coffee 

-Even though I didn't end up buying a car and some stuff happened that resulted in me feeling a bit deflated towards the end of the day, I'm so thankful that Michael rode with me and was with me in that moment 

-Car chats with Michael 

-Hot pot with Kara and Shang 

-Asian pear cocktails 

-Thankful for a back-up car for my back-up car 

In all of this, I am just overwhelmed by the Lord's love and how he pursued me this weekend. I'm not sure how or when I'll get a new car but I anticipate that the Lord will orchestrate it and that I don't need to stress too much about it.