Early last year I realized how the miles were accumulating on our Subaru, after owning it for 10 years. And started thinking, We need another vehicle. The Preacher’s old redneck truck gets him where he needs to go, but when my Outback is in the shop, I’m stuck.
When I suggested it, he only saw dollar signs. And that means, No.
So I prayed. Like when God told Elijah He was sending rain, and then told him to pray for rain… I sensed God nudging me to pray for another car. A third car. The Preacher could drive the Subaru (with A/C that works in the summer and heated seats in the winter), and use the truck for toting firewood and making dump runs.
And I’d get the “new” one.
I prayed some more.
A mini-SUV, preferably.
We’re always toting something or someone.
And red, if possible?
Just because.
By summer there was no sign of a third car in our future, and our vehicles were still running. I put that request on hold and prayed other prayers.
But when I applied for a new job paying more than minimum wage, the Preacher agreed another set of wheels could fit in the budget.
I also applied for a similar job in a neighboring county in the opposite direction. Hint: there are no jobs in my neighborhood. Wherever we go, it’s a lot of miles.
In August an older friend of ours told the Preacher she needed to sell her Hyundai Santa Fe, because she couldn’t get in and out of it anymore. She asked if he knew someone who might be interested in buying it – said she was willing to work out a payment plan if the buyer was an individual she knew and trusted. The car was a 2004 with only 106,000 miles. She’d taken great care of it, had all the paperwork from every repair. And her asking price was reasonable.
God whispered to my husband, You’ll want to listen to this. When she finished, he said, I’ll have Deb call you. That evening he told me.
And that evening I called her.
It was a mini-SUV, gently used. It was affordable. And it was red.
Talk about answered prayer!
She insisted we drive it for a couple weeks before making a decision. On September 1 we gave her a down payment and drew up a plan to pay off the balance within a year.
Two Sundays later, while driving to church in our “new” car, Ron turned the radio to the local Christian station. An announcement aired from the pregnancy center in the city nearby – they were also looking for a new Executive Director.
A few weeks prior I had applied for the same position at a center in the foothills, and was in the middle of the interview process. That nonprofit was located 50 miles southeast of our house; we considered moving closer if I was offered the position.
But when I heard about the other center needing leadership, I knew I needed to apply. It was only 30 miles west of us. And I had friends in that community.
Could be, this is why God gave us another set of wheels. Wow!
Note: If we didn’t have the new vehicle, and had driven the Subaru as usual to church that morning, we wouldn’t have heard the announcement, because the radio in the Subaru didn’t work. (We typically only listen to the radio while driving.)
I was so tempted to tell the board of directors, You need to hire me. God gave me the car I prayed for – the car I’m gonna need for driving back and forth to the Central Valley with a 40-minute commute every morning and every evening.
A month later I was offered the job!
Note: The reason I haven’t written much lately.
Amazing how God orchestrated all those details to provide for us as we entered this new season. And isn’t it amazing how the same God wants to Wow! each of His children every day?!
But that’s not all He did.
To be continued…
debbiecroft 
No pressure Debbie, but I’m anxious to hear about your conclusion…We had similar story about how we ended up in Idaho in a PERFECT house and a PERFECT car.