The night of the National Championship I had successfully gotten James in bed very early for him, made football-watching food, and planned to celebrate Stephen's first sale at his new job by watching the big game just the two of us. A few minutes into our conversation, on Stephen's way home from work, I heard the impact of a collision over the phone and knew that it wasn't good. Stephen got on the phone to tell me that he had been in a wreck but that he was okay. I was able to get in touch with his parents, and his Dad was able to meet him at the scene to help him change a tire that was completed shredded and followed him back toward our house to make sure he didn't have a problem making it home. (Looking at the car later and hearing the input of people that know a lot more about cars than I do, I don't know how he was able to drive the car home that night.) We didn't watch the National Championship game that night - it was over by the time that he made it home. And after immediately thanking the Lord for his protection over Stephen, my mind went into logistics mode. I started to think about how this would impact us financially, and I struggled with feeling like this couldn't have come at a worse time. The question "Why?" came easily to my mind...self-pity creeped in easily, like an old (bad!) friend, about yet another setback. And then I quickly pushed those thoughts aside and just prayed that the Lord would help me to see this situation through His eyes.
Of course, it's so easy to list negatives: James and I were without a car and stuck at home for a month for about 12 hours a day, inconvenience, the car being declared a "total loss" yet insurance not giving us what the car was truly worth, etc. But there were so many positives too: the fact that the impact was on the opposite side of the car as Stephen and him being totally unharmed (had James and I been in the car that night the situation could have been a whole lot worse), seeing how the Lord ministers to his children through his people (neighbors reaching out to us to offer tarps to cover the broken windows, another neighbor that works on cars going out of his way to offer advice and the willingness to fix the car if he could have, friends bringing a meal, etc.), and the opportunity to watch and wait with anticipation for how the Lord would bring about good from a bad situation. A few days into this situation, I told Stephen "I don't know what the outcome of this situation is going to be, but I know the ending of this story is going to be a testimony to the goodness of God." I truly believed that (because I have seen the Lord prove that to us over and over these last few months in incredible ways!) And it was.
When we finally got the insurance check a month later, we headed to the Honda dealership on Stephen's off day from work to go look at used, comparable cars. We didn't have a car payment before, and we didn't want to take one on now either. We started in the most-used section of the dealership thinking that maybe we could purchase a car and still save a significant portion of the check as well. After almost not making it back to the dealership on a test-drive (James kept saying "This road sure is bumpy! ha!), we decided it would be best to move up to the middle-of-the-road section. But the sales manager informed us that there really wasn't anything in our price range in that section - that those cars just get snatched up quickly. I was so discouraged. They started talking to us about comparable cars (to what we had) that would require a "small" car payment, and it was looking like things were not going to go the way that we had hoped and prayed. We briefly explained our situation and adamance in not wanting to spend any more than what we had previously stated, and then the sales manager went into his office for a while and then came back and told us he actually had a Honda van that had been traded in the day before that wasn't even in the system yet. He said that he planned to list it for quite a bit more, but since it had been on the lot less than 24 hours that he was willing to "make it work" if we were interested.
Stephen went to get the car seat for the test-drive while James and I climbed inside. While Stephen was gone, James and I found a penny...and then lots more pennies in the van. Right then I knew it was "ours." Pennies are significant to us (I promise I really am southern Baptist so stick with me!) and are a reminder of a special time in Stephen's life when God provided in a big way. So, now, whenever we see a penny when we're out and about, we take the opportunity to thank God for being our Jehovah Jireh, our Provider. Stephen came back to the van and I gave him a hand full of pennies, and his smile said it all. The van ran great, was the same year and around the same mileage as our old car, and pending the inspection being satisfactory we put forth the money (with some to spare!) to buy the van (and a van just so happens to be my "dream car," seriously! I would have been happy with whatever the Lord provided, but I always dreamed of being a Mama and driving a minivan full of babies! And we are well on our way with Jude arriving in June).
We also learned on the test-drive that the sales manager is actually a pastor that's in a season of his life that God does not have him in the pulpit currently but is waiting and praying for that open door. Imagine his surprise to learn that he was selling a car to another salesman-for-just-a-season (in a different industry) who is also praying a very similar prayer! The pastor/sales manager shared with us his testimony of salvation, deliverance from drug addiction, and call to ministry. We talked about the beauty of forgiveness and grace. I could not hold back the tears. A divine appointment! God so clearly provided this van for us through the softening of this sales manager's heart (he told us he would hardly make a profit on this deal but just felt lead to help us) that we otherwise could not have afforded. There is no such thing as mere coincidence, and I thank God for His providence. It's really not about connections or "who you know" in this world (even if it seems that way!) - it's really just all about knowing Him!
We found out that the van was ready to be picked up on James' birthday. What a third birthday present! He thinks that we bought it for him as a birthday present. He also thinks that our car transformed into Scooter - I'm pregnant and hormonal and naturally sappy and emotional anyway (I cried like a baby when I watched the car thad held so many memories being towed away) so I think that it's sweet that he believes our car just transformed into this van with room for "lots more babies"! I guess, in a way, our car did transform into Scooter. God provided something that we no longer had, transforming our situation - and that's the beauty of childlike faith! The sales manager, Eric, walked us out to the car as we were leaving. He commented several times that we were really getting a "great deal for our money!" And then he said, "You're going to be okay" which could have seemed like an unusual response, maybe even to him. He had no idea the significance of those few simple words. I simply replied, "Yes, we are going to be okay"(and in faith, my heart was saying, We are going to be okay...in everything) What has seemed like so much loss the last two years has also resulted in so much gain. And what once felt like the "end" is really just the beginning.
Jehovah Jireh - the Lord will provide!
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