Everything happens in 3's...huh?!

I personally believe that everything happens for a reason. I trust that God has a plan for me and even though I may not have a clue what it is sometimes, I know there is a force at work in my life that is much greater than me. I know that God doesn't give me more than I can handle. He trusts me a lot more than I trust me! Sometimes things hit me at such rapid speed, it is hard not to think that something out there is trying to rock my boat, and tip it over! Take my string of bad luck, for example...

It is the start of a new semester at school. I am a single mom with three kids who works full-time in addition to pursuing my education. Side note: "Single" as in not married but I do have a wonderful man in my life...and I am keeping him! Back to my post... Sometimes I work at my office, but most days I am permitted (at least for now) to work from home. Needless to say, I have a busy and demanding life. First, my vacuum cleaner breaks. My entire residence is carpeted except bathrooms and the kitchen. Did I mention the THREE kids? One of them is two! I need  my vacuum cleaner! So, I am without a vacuum cleaner. Fine, I will sweep the carpet knowing I am getting the big things and cringe thinking about all the little things I am missing. Second, I get in my very trustworthy car that has almost NEVER let me down. It won't go anywhere. I have about forty-five minutes before I have to pick up my little guy from daycare, and it won't go anywhere. Displayed on the radio screen is "Reduced Engine Power" -- ok, CAR, I am not trying to fly a plane here! I just want to go pick up my son. I get mad. I get frustrated. I cry. I call my man who is across the country working...help me! He calms me down, as he always does because he is my voice of reason. I called a dealership and talked to a very nice man who told me some things to try. It worked! I got my son home. The next day, I dropped my car off at the dealership for repairs. This was a Friday. For those keeping track, I am now down a vacuum cleaner and a car. I am stressed out. I tell myself, just focus on schoolwork.

So, I sit down to do schoolwork and my computer freezes up just as it did earlier when I was working. The beginning of the semester was already stressful for me. I was feeling very overwhelmed and most times I sat down to do schoolwork, it ended with water works. More frustration... In a panic, I reach out to anyone on Facebook who might be able to help me. I tried all kinds of things, no luck. In my mind, I know every syllabus I have from my instructors says something along the lines of...your computer not working is no excuse for not turning in your assignments on time. Plan ahead. Oh great! So now I have no vacuum, no car, and no computer! I wondered if perhaps I had hit the trifecta of bad luck. Is that a legit excuse? Probably not. I lost it...I cried ALL weekend. 

I called every one of my five instructors and left voice mail messages trying to explain what was going on. I couldn't email them, which was EVERYONE'S preference for contact. I probably sounded like a crazy lady! Have you ever tried to make five phone calls in a row and clearly communicate a situation that has you so upset that as soon as the words leave your lips you get emotional. Yep! I cried on every one of those messages. But, everything happens for a reason. 

I called my boss to abreast her of the situation as well, after all with no car to get my toddler to daycare and no computer to work from home...I couldn't do anything! I felt very defeated. She took it upon herself to contact the owner, who amazingly let me borrow a computer from work to help me out. I got a ride to work to get the computer. The first thing I did once I got it all hooked up was email each of my instructors. All I could do is wait for their responses. 

Most of my instructors were very understanding of the situation, which really surprised me. This was a new semester, they don't know me. They don't know that my education is extremely important to me and that I plan to maintain the 4.0 I have earned every semester since I started school. Most of my instructors helped me get back on track and some even extended deadlines for me so that I could still turn in work that was due over that weekend. The other instructors wished me luck. 

 So, those were my three things that happened; my vacuum cleaner, my car, and lastly my computer. As I said earlier, everything happens for a reason and God doesn't give us more than we can handle. It is his plan, not mine. Here is what I learned...

I learned that God puts people in our path for a reason. I had been debating whether or not to keep driving my car over the weekend, after all it was acting normally again. Should I wait until the following week to get it to the dealership? I don't think it was a coincidence that two men at the first repair shop I went to got pulled away from talking to me and that the third man I told my car story to had the knowledge I needed. He had a customer come in with the same car as mine, having the same issues as mine. After the reduced engine power issue, the next thing that happened to her was that she would have no control over the steering of her vehicle while she was driving. Message accepted...do not drive the car! The repairs to my car would have been over $1,600. Did I mention I am a single mom with three kids? This is more than twice my rent! My car has just under 100,000 miles on it. One of the repairs, the steering column, was covered under a manufacturer warranty that would have expired within a couple of hundred miles. The $1,100 in repairs I am responsible for, I only had to pay $200 down and signed a deal that is 90-days same as cash. I didn't know how I was going to come up with $1,100 right there on the spot. I was so thankful I didn't have to! 

My computer needed a new hard drive. It was still under warranty by less than forty days! I got a new hard drive shipped to me free of charge.

There was a lesson in all of this for me. I don't think life gets tough to beat us down. I think sometimes life gets tough for us to stand up, show how strong we are and to prove to ourselves that we really want something. That wonderful man in my life that I mentioned earlier, he is my strength. He doesn't allow me to dwell on the obstacles in our path. He finds solutions. I know that God put him in my path too. 

In the first week of the semester, I thought to myself at least a dozen times I wanted to drop all my classes; start over when things calmed down; but I am not a quitter. In the face of all these complications, I proved to myself how bad I want this. I have my car, I have my computer, and I have a new vacuum cleaner. Granted, the vacuum cleaner is still in the box, but hey! I am not Super Woman! It's been a busy week!