I haven’t had a true vacation in over a decade. To say my life has been challenging would be an understatement.
Well, I’m trying to complete said overdue vacation, but it doesn’t seem to want to end. Apparently my life is afraid it will be another decade before I take similar time away from the chaos that is my normal life.
Okay, let me start at the beginning…of the vacation that is.
I swung through Kentucky to see my illustrious illustrator, Dyann the day after she had outpatient surgery. Yeah, that didn’t go too well. She remembers about half of what I said, and I didn’t stay very long.
So, up to Michigan I went. Clifford, the big red van, was running well…until we got back on Michigan roads. I think they passed legislation to make the roads so rough so drivers can’t fall asleep on them. That’s my guess.
Suddenly I get a new message light on my dashboard: Check Gages. So I did. They were all still there, but then I noticed the one that tells me if the alternator is working was sleeping. I thought they made that illegal in Michigan.
A few miles up the road I chattered til I saw a car parts store right off the exit ramp. I swung in to see if they could hook up a diagnostic thingy to see what my problem was…or Clifford’s problem at least. My problems go a lot deeper than that.
The lady behind the counter grabbed the diagnosis dealy whopper…then she stopped and set it down before she put on a heavy apron and goggles. She explained that she had someone else’s battery blow up earlier that day.
I sent up a prayer.
She said Clifford’s battery and alternator were both fine so I drove away still praying.
Next stop was a pre-reunion reunion-ish. Folks putting the 40 year high school reunion were setting up on Friday. By the time I got there they were standing around a bonfire gabbing.
I recognized about half of them. It was great catching up. As was the full reunion on Saturday. I gave a copy of my prayer book to my old English teacher. He was thrilled.
The next couple of weeks were spent visiting siblings. I have six of them to see. That’s why it took two weeks.
I also saw some nieces and nephews, along with some great-nieces and great-nephews. Yeah, now that my siblings kids are having kids I’m a great uncle.
Not that I was that bad of an uncle before. It’s just that now I’m legitimately great at this uncle thing.
Interspersed amongst the visits was this sleeping altmeter. I was able to successfully ignore it until Clifford’s battery cried “UNCLE!”
Fortunately my brother-in-law had the day off so we took the alternator off to have it checked. The guy who rebuilds such contraptions said it’s working just fine.
We put it back on and the gauge decided to wake up. I shrugged my shoulders and prayed some more.
I drove about an hour north to take advantage of using my sister’s lake house for a day. The gauge fell back to sleep about half way up. I stifled an expletive and prayed harder.
I hooked a battery charger on Clifford and absorbed the tranquility of my setting. It was just what I needed before the next big event: The Maranatha Christian Writers’ Conference.
But, that pesky charging gauge was sound asleep. I limped Clifford back to my sister’s place and got ahold of my mechanic brother. Fortunately, He had that day off. We took the alternator back into town to have the rebuilder guy rig a voltage regulator to it because the consensus was that must be the problem.
My brother and I went back to my sister’s place where I planned on spending the night. We no more than got my stuff in the house. I told my sister that my perseverance was being tested. My phone rang.
It was the rebuilder guy. He said he found the problem. It wasn’t the thingy that regulates where the voltage goes…that’s as political as I plan on getting on my blog. It was the brushes.
Let me see if I can explain what this is. The brushes are a small part of the alternator. They spin and brush against something to make electricity. Only half of them were working. The other ones were sleeping, even though that’s against the law on Michigan roads.
Fortunately nobody enforced that law while I was under their jurisdiction.
That meant that all of my stuff went out of my sister’s house back into my brother’s pickup so I could put it back into Clifford so I could still make it to the conference without missing the first half day of it.
With a fully awake alternator and gauge.
The conference was fabulous. I met some new friends, writer friends are the best. We understand each other.
My first four one on one appointments were met with the same response: “No.”
The fifth time was the charm. The only agent there told me to send him one of my manuscripts. The the sixth person said they want to see one of the other ones.
There’s that perseverance topic coming up again.
As the conference was winding down Dyann kept calling me. So I called her when it was done. Another change of plans ensued. Rather than swing back to see her on my way back to Texas I now went straight back home…or so I thought.
I stopped for the night about half way through Illinois. I drove into Missouri, or was it Misery? before I stopped for gas. When I walked around the front of Clifford I saw a green stream flowing from under the hood.
Another stifled expletive was followed by another prayer.
I tracked the leak to the water pump. Something I’ve replaced before so it could have been worse. The next challenge was finding someone open with the water pump I needed.
Fifteen miles down the road I had a few prayers answered in the affirmative.
- I got Clifford there without overheating.
- The car parts store was open on Sunday.
- They had the pump I needed, as well as the tool I would need to complete the job.
Five hours later I was back on the road. That meant I didn’t get back home on Sunday like I expected to, but I got closer, and I was able to write this blog post in the motel room.
As you can see my life is just one misadventure after another…even when I’m vacationing.
But I’m persevering to build God’s kingdom.
The app and books that will follow what was accomplished this past few weeks will point folks to Jesus in some unique and effective ways.
Warfare is just part of the process.
Now to get some sleep.
I’ll see you later. Wade
