Pray Always

Last week I attended the funeral of my friend's father. He was a mechanic, so during the eulogy his daughter shared how, once one of them was planning to drive up the highway, he would tell them to check their water and oil. I don't make this a habit, since I am fairly confident in my car's health as I carry it for an oil change every 5000km and a check up at 3 month intervals. However for the past few days I have been driving Mummy's car, and I had no idea of when last it was serviced.

On Friday, I started hearing a strange sound in the engine while I was driving. My friend enquired what it was, but I told her it better not be anything serious because I had to head up north early Saturday morning and I didn't have time to check it out before then. My plan was to leave home at 5:30am on Saturday, and in the rush of getting things organized to leave, the thought from the funeral about my friend's father telling them to check their water and oil came to my mind very strongly so I decided to check mine.

This is what you see when you pop the bonnet

Now for anyone who has had experience with a Serena, you would know that the engine is very compact and there is not much room to move around. Mummy's own is a bit tighter, as it also caterers for the parts for the CNG system. I removed the cover for the radiator. There was nothing. The reservoir was also empty. I started thanking God one time that I had followed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to check it before I left because by the time I reached halfway up the highway and the engine started to overheat that would have been another story. I was unable to locate the dipstick to check the oil, because it was hiding under some hose, so I couldn't check the oil levels.

After filling up the radiator and reservoir, we hit the road. The vehicle was definitely driving like something was still wrong. I prayed all the way from Dow Village to Maracas, St. Joseph, and then down to St. Augustine where I had a session at church. Along the way, my oil light came on briefly twice, but went back off. When we had a break I called my mechanic and described what I was experiencing. He said if the oil light came on that I needed to check it immediately. He guided me to where I could locate the dipstick.

It took some digging but I finally
found it

So you know how there's an "L" at the bottom of the dipstick and then there's the bend just before the final tip? Well when we checked the oil level it was barely covering the tiny tip! If I had been able to check the oil before I left home, there was no way I would have driven up the highway, and I would have been very late for the session at church by the time I had sorted out the oil. One of my friends from church who helped me replace the oil, when he heard my story, said that he had a new level of faith because of how God came through for me that morning.

This is the message for anyone who sees Mummy's car. It is a reminder of the importance and power of prayer. On a daily basis we take so much for granted as we go through the day. We have no idea how much God is working in the background to keep up safe. Even if bad things happen, we don't know if it could have been worse had God not been on our side. I am so grateful to God for keeping the engine from being destroyed and for taking us up the road and back down safely, and also for my church brothers who helped me refill the oil and ensure there were no leaks.

Lindsey and Keon to the rescue!

Psalm 124:8 - Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.