~ Donut for a Doughnut ~ Not a Quick Fix ~ How God Showed Up for Me ~

I have several posts in the hopper just waiting for your viewing , but before I get those finalized and posted I needed to share my day with you . It's been a rough few days for me . I had a "flare up" of my RA and have just been man down . So , I was very much looking forward to meeting up with a good friend today to get my mind off it . She is visiting family and friends in Chattanooga while her hubby (another good friend) works on a few classes in the UK . We decided to do a fun meet up somewhere "in the middle" . Neither of us had time or fuel money to do a complete trip to one or the others location . I am very grateful that I have friends who are willing to travel . It has been definite blessings at just the right times .

Today Lauren and I met up in a small town called Sweetwater . It is a couple of red lights , Mexican restaurant , Big K and a few fast food places kind of town . We had a great Mexican lunch and then did a little exploring . Turned out there wasn't all that much to explore so we found our selves searching a fun antique shop and a sock outlet .Yes , no Wal-Mart .  No food city , but , they have a sock outlet . Anyway we came across a lot of fun stuff that if we had the resources would've come home with us . One of those fun and random items was this cool bunch of old campaign buttons .

Sorry for the sideways view . I didn't realize when
I was taking/downloading it that I didn't have it angled proper .



I would have loved to brought these home , placed them in a shadow box and hung them with some of Papaws military medals . But alas , they still sit in that shop.....for now . Anyway , after such a fun time with a good friend I had to say good-bye , run a few errands , visit family and then headed home . My RA flare up has had me in serious pain the last few days and this evening as I headed home it decided to once again remind me who is boss . Considering the drive isn't that long I kept telling myself just to keep calm and relaxed . Did I mention that my A/C had gone out earlier in the day ? It does that now and then , but the "silver bullet" has over 100,000 miles on her so I just take the going in and out of my A/C with the mentality that at least she runs . Window's rolled down ( cause it was 90 degree's INSIDE my car) , radio on , and my mind 100 different places I started to hear that oh so stomach dropping noise . A flat tire . I learned long ago to never have the radio so loud that the beat of a tire could be confused the beat of the music . All that time traveling/working with bands/ensembles taught me a thing or two .

I am (not to toot my own horn , toot toot) so proud that I did not panic . I calmly pulled over to the side of the interstate , turned on my emergency blinkers and called the people I pay an yearly fee too for such situations . I proceeded to wait about 10 minutes for someone to answer , after talking to a very kind operator for close to 20 minutes I was told that in about 45 minutes a tow would be there to help me figure out what I needed to do ( Because at that point I wasn't sure if I had a spare . I am a girl !! Stop judging me!!! Andddddd I did have on a glittery top . STOP . JUST STOP ! Glitter is WHO I AM !!  ) . The idea of 45 minutes of waiting in the heat and then however long it would to take to fix or tow my car was about to send me into a ugly cry .  While I waited for instructions from the operator I sent a text to a parental unit letting them know where I was , what had happened and to prepare to possibly come claim me in a parking lot somewhere . After getting the final word I hung up the phone , and I don't know that I had even prayed at that point over the situation , but I got out of the car to take a pic of the busted tire (cause that just seemed like the right thing to do if only for the purpose of documenting the day ) and to search my trunk for the spare (which I was hoping desperately that I actually had ) . I rummaged the trunk , moving my cans for recycling (yea , that's how I roll....or don't roll ) , moving jacks crate , and trying to figure how the heck I get under that dadjim carpet liner thing .  I literally sweated it out , debated crying and repeated to myself that " this is o.k. " , " that someone was on their way " , and that I am prepared for this kind of situation . I am a independent woman after all .

After giving up on the carpet liner thing for a moment I looked up to a car pulling off the interstate behind mine .  A kind stranger who just so happen to be a MECHANIC pulled over to take time out of his commute home and change my tire . His cap , no joke , was a Michelin Tires cap . PRAISE THE LORD !!! The guardian angel of  "all the single ladies " (no Beyoncé did not change my tire ) was watching over me and sent the MICHELIN MAN !!! LITERALLY !!! The man began to offer his help and I immediately let him know that I didn't have any cash to give him for his service ( yes , I know that not having ANY cash on hand is not wise ) . His reply , " It isn't all about money ma'am . I just wanna help you get off the side of the road  " . I was so surprised (sadly) by this act of kindness and so ashamed that I didn't have anything to offer him in return . Finally , ironically , I remembered that I did have ONE donut I had gotten for free with a coupon (of course ) so , I immediately forced him to take it as my only form of thank you . A doughnut for putting a "donut " spare on my car . Seems right .  He gladly took it , followed me to the closest gas station , proceeded to make sure the rest of my tires had enough air in them and then went on his way .

I was home before the sun set ,  able to do a few things to calm down my RA and am still going over in my head the idea and the truth that He goes before us . Praise the Lord that there are still kind strangers out there . Praise the Lord that He goes before us in ALL situations . Praise the Lord for His calming hand on us in overwhelming times . Praise the Lord for such a fun day prior to a stressful evening . Praise the Lord that being a " single " doesn't mean having to be alone or self sufficient in all situations . You may have to be a single female to truly understand that last one .

How has God showed up for you lately ? Do you have any situations where He has so clearly gone before you ? Provided exactly the right person/thing at exactly the right time ? Please feel free to share in the comments . It is encouraging to all of us !!