at least it is not raining

most people know about the rough week we have had here at the van clan house. monday our van broke down. tuesday my brother thought he got it fixed but it broke down again on us yesterday. im so relieved i had my brother with me. monday i was in a panic because i was on the freeway with all 9 kids when it broke down. yesterday i was laughing because my brother was with me and that made me feel safer. and by then what else could i do but laugh at the adventure he got to go on with us. i mean, how much fun is that!!! at one point during the day when a friend was trying to get the battery charged for us i looked at my bother and said "at least its not raining too." isnt that how we need to look at things? the thought of being broke down with 9 kids in the rain and trying to fix the car in the freezing cold made me shiver! of course not having our van is very inconvenient. first of all it is our only vehicle. that makes us very dependant on others right now. and i really dont like depending on others. but i am thankful for those in our life that are so willing to help. and second not many people have a vehicle big enough to shuttle our family around. last night we had to make 2 trips to get us all home. but again im thankful to have family willing to do that. we must remember God is sovereign. nothing happens that surprises Him. we may not understand why these trials come into our lives but God sees the big picture. and that is something to marvel at. so sometimes we just have to sit back, chuckle and say "at least it is not raining."