As you may remember, my car blew an engine 7 weeks ago on my way into LA. I had to have the entire engine replaced (meaning a lot of debt.)

Last night, my car overheated. It had spewed coolant all over the place. Thankfully, it happened outside my house. After consulting SEVERAL people on Twitter and Facebook as well as talking to my father back in Georgia, I decided to try and fix it myself. The most likely problem was that the thermostat had gotten stuck closed. So I filled the radiator with water and drove to the local Napa Auto Parts.

I bought the parts and coolant I needed for $30 (PRAISE GOD) and went back to the house. I borrowed tools from the people I’m staying with and set about fixing my car. I’ve never fixed anything on an engine in my life. So this was a big deal. (I can rebuild a computer with ease but a car engine is a mystery to me.)

Two hours later, I had fixed it. (Those of you who know about replacing thermostats will understand that this was way more time than it requires. Haha. But I’m a newbie.) I watched some videos on YouTube and read a couple of how-tos online. No joke. That’s how I did it.

There was only one mishap during this process. The only container I had to catch the coolant when I drained the radiator was a pizza box. And of course, wet cardboard doesn’t contain liquid. (It wasn’t my idea – just to be clear. But I did accept it as a solution so I am equally at fault.) To sop up the coolant running everywhere on the pavement, I opened my trunk and grabbed a 12-pack of extra absorbent toilet paper. And boy did it work. Thankfully, I don’t think any neighborhood cats will be dying because of me.

The point of this story is this – I’m out here in LA essentially by myself. I don’t have my dad to fix every problem for me. God’s not going to fix every problem for me either. This whole thing is one big adventure – and from what I’ve seen in the Indiana Jones trilogy, adventures are hard and dangerous, and sometimes bad things happen.

In the end, this whole thing was an answer to prayer, although masked in a whole lot of frustration. I had prayed that God would give me strength and confidence out here. Paying a mechanic was OUT of the question – I still don’t have a job. God put me in a situation that I had to face and had no other options. And by facing it head on and trusting God to guide me through it, I now know how to replace the thermostat on my car. That gives me confidence to try some other minor fixes on the car. Confidence.

Every day is an adventure out here. I recommend it. Take a leap. Whatever your “LA” is, go for it. Life is too short to live a boring, normal life. You’ll never feel more alive. And your relationship with God will never be more sweet than when you have to rely on HIM for EVERYTHING!