Car Chronicles

Sometime in January, the temperature gauge light in my car started going red when my AC was on, or if I had a lot of hills to climb. Although there was no leak in the radiator, I would have to top up everytime I went on a long journey. My mechanic diagnosed the issue as an engine head block that needed to be replaced. He committed to source it, and in the meantime I had to take the necessary precautions like checking the radiator before each journey and only using the AC when absolutely necessary.

After 3 months of driving like this my car had enough. One afternoon after spending too much time in the hot sun idling in traffic, it started vibrating and moving really slowly and it was only by the grace of God that I made it safely home. I knew I needed to park it up until the needed part was sourced.

The problem was that my mechanic was having problems finding the head block for the size of engine I had. After weeks of searching, he could only find the head block for the smaller size. He had someone checking everytime a container of parts came in, but to no avail. During this time, one of my friends generously offered me the use of her car on weekends when she didn't need it for work. Later on, I was granted full use of a vehicle until mine was repaired. I truly felt the love of God as He provided for my every need.

A couple days before my mechanic was going to make the hard decision to convert my engine to the smaller size, he found someone who had the part! He said the dealer may not have known how scarce the part was, because the price he charged for it was quite normal. The favor of the Lord!

After returning the borrowed car, I was back on the road again, with a short trip to San Fernando. However, on the way there, my temperature gauge light came on again! I had an "Oh no, not again!" moment and prayed all the way home. However, on checking the radiator, there was water, so I was not convinced that it was the same issue.

Later that same day I had to return to San Fernando, but as I drove out of our yard, I heard a weird sound coming from my engine. I pulled over, and a kind stranger who just happened to be passing through our street stopped and diagnosed the problem - my fan belt had burst.

Busted fan belt

I was so thankful that this had not happened when I was on the highway, or driving by myself on a remote road somewhere. I was able to walk back home and wait until my mechanic could come and replace it. 

After this I was encouraged to check my car battery, since it had died in the time when the car was down awaiting repairs, and gave a bit of trouble on start up. When I took it in, I was told that the battery really did need to be replaced. I again offered up a prayer of thanksgiving that it did not shut down on my at a critical time.

Lastly, I opened my car remotely one night this week for my brother to put something in the trunk, and realised that one of my brake lights was not on. Upon further investigation, he discovered that the bulb had blown. I was able to replace it the next day, before the police stopped me at a road block and charged me $1000 for a defective $5 brake light.

Contrary to the well-meaning kind stranger mentioned earlier, I do not need a husband to "see about my car". God is doing a very good job thank you very much, ensuring that the right people are there to support when I need them the most, and looking out for His daughter every step of the way.

Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.