It feels so good to be home! We left for Georgia early Tuesday morning and made it to our hotel by late afternoon. That evening we went to the funeral home for the visitation. In spite of the sad circumstances, it was wonderful to get to visit with our good friends and reminisce about Bro. Cameron. Yesterday we were able to relax at the hotel for a little while before checking out and heading to the church building for the funeral service.
There were over 50 pastors at the service, and what a sweet spirit filled the building! Bro. Cameron was greatly loved by many, and my heart was stirred by the wonderful memories that were shared. After the graveside service, we loaded up and hit the road.
Traffic was pretty heavy on the interstate, but we still made good time. Just as we were about to leave I-75 to get on the Florida Turnpike, our truck suddenly lost power. Talk about a few scary moments! There we were with semi-trucks all around us, and we had no lights working on our vehicle. Steven carefully guided the truck over into the far right land and was able to coast to a stop on the shoulder of the road. However, we still didn't have any power or lights at 11:30 p.m., so we were in a dangerous spot. Hubby thinks the alternator went out because our battery is just a couple of months old.
I immediately got my AAA auto club card out of my wallet and dialed their number. A very helpful operator noted our location and put out a dispatch call for a tow truck. At the same time, Steven was on his phone calling his dad to let him know what had happened. He set out to come pick us up. The AAA operator called back to let me know that the tow truck's ETA was about an hour.
Lil' Nut was the only one who panicked. She started crying and said, "If we all die right now in the this car, we all have Jesus in our hearts." We tried hard not to laugh at her; it was a sweet moment.
About 45 minutes later, the tow truck pulled up behind us. We were concerned about how my FIL would be able to locate our exact location, but the tow truck driver solved that problem for us. His HUGE truck cab was able to accommodate our entire family. The four kids road in the back seat while the grownups road up front. The driver loaded our truck on his flatbed and drove us to the service plaza about ten miles down the road. My FIL was waiting there for us, and I've never been happier to see him!
We said goodbye to our super tow truck guy, and he headed on down the turnpike with our truck to drop it off at the garage here in our town. We made it home about 2:45 this morning, all safe and sound.
I have been counting my blessings this morning, and here are just a few:
* When we lost power in our truck, my hubby was able to safely guide it off of the road.
* We have AAA. My mom renews it for us every year. (Thanks, Mom!)
* Not only do we have AAA, we have the Plus account. Without the plus account, we would have paid $5 per mile for towing; however, we get FREE towing up to 100 miles. Getting the truck towed didn't cost us a penny, and it would have cost over $350 without the Plus account.
* We weren't stranded by the tow truck. The driver was concerned for our safety and quickly got the kids in his truck and out of harm's way. He drove all of us to a safe location.
* Before we left for our trip I changed wallets. I wanted to take a small one to fit in a small purse. Usually when I do a quick wallet change, I just take my driver's license and bank card with me; however, for some reason I also took my AAA card out of my big wallet and put it in the small one. It would have made things more difficult if I wouldn't have had the card with me.
* We had cell phone service in our remote location.
* My FIL was able to come pick us up.
* A man in our church owns the garage where our truck was taken to, so we have someone trustworthy and honest to repair it.
So, other than feeling worn out today, I'm going to have a wonderful last day of 2009. We'll ring in the new year tonight at our church's watch night service, and I'll still be counting my blessings. :)Labels: Blessings, Daily Life