Ah yes, vacation!
Last week was vacation time. Time to take off and relax. Time to refresh and enjoy different scenery.
Carol and I were heading to Salida, Colorado. Carol had planned over a year for this trip. She bought a new travel trailer and had all the hiking trips planned. The trailer park was reserved and I had the pickup tuned up and ready to go. She would follow me in the car.
Carol was going to spend the entire month of July in the mountains hiking, while getting away from the summer heat of Texas. Of course with summer weight and conditioning workouts, I would need to return home early and get ready for the season, so we took two vehicles.
Before we departed for Colorado I spent time praying about the trip. I walked around the vehicles and prayed over each one. I asked God for blessings and safety.
So, you might ask, “How was the trip Jack?” It did not go as planned. Pulling in Raton, New Mexico, the pickup threw a rod. There went the motor to the pickup. What would I do?
After talking to my brothers and a local dealership, Gary was on the way to Raton in a new pickup from the dealership pulling a trailer with Tracy’s pickup loaded. When Gary arrived, we unloaded Tracy’s pickup and loaded mine on the trailer. Carol and I continued to Colorado but could only spend a few days because we wanted to return Tracy’s truck.
On the way home, the new travel trailer had a blowout south of Dalhart, Texas. The tire tool would not fit the lug nuts so Good Sam’s sent a worker to change the tire. After arriving in Amarillo, I checked the other trailer tire and it was about to blow so I had to find a tire store and it was already after 5:00pm.
Getting a new tire and filling the spare (now on the trailer) with more air, we headed home. Carol was following me in my car. After I exited off I-27 in Tulia to refuel, I noticed Carol was not behind me. Within a minute my phone rang. Carol said she had just been rear ended on the highway. She was traveling at 70 miles per hour with very little traffic and a car appeared almost out of nowhere and plowed into the back of the car. The young dad driving had the cruise control set and was not paying attention to the road as he rammed the rear end of the car Carol was driving.
What a trip. Lost an engine in my pickup, had to replace both tires on the travel trailer and totaled my Cadillac. Someone might say, “Didn’t you pray over your trip and vehicles?” My answer might surprise you.
Yes, I did pray for safety and blessings. As we stayed over in Raton, New Mexico, it allowed Carol and I to attend the First Baptist Church Sunday morning service. The service was excellent and we met the pastor. He knew of us because he was a UMHB graduate and served as music minister at Pershing Park Baptist Church in Killeen.
While staying a few days in Salida, we got to spend time with Carol’s sister and her husband. We had a great time visiting and hiking with these fine folks. The tire store in Amarillo was super nice and helpful, staying open long enough to replace our travel trailer tire. The manager remembered me as a coach at West Texas State, where he attended college.
Having one brother immediately stop hauling hay with his pickup and help another brother get loaded (loaning his truck to me) and drive almost 600 miles was very kind. Then to top it all off, I realized more than ever how God walks with us through the trials of life. In the whole ordeal, what could have been tragedy after tragedy were blessings being bestowed upon us.
It is such a blessing to have good friends (car dealership, loan of a car hauling trailer from Tony and Eric), awesome family (Gary, with his wife Faith, and Tracy), loving relatives (Marilyn and Lyle), helpful people (Marcus at the tire store), and an awesome God carrying us through this lifetime journey.
Now, it is time to get ready for some football.
Thought for the week, “God, family and friends are the blessings of life.” Jack Welch