Moving: Part 1

I am constantly amazed at God. I suppose I shouldn't be; after all, He is well... God. But I guess it is because He is this big omnipresent, all-powerful, God that I am truly amazed when He shows up in the little stuff in ours lives. It's this constant reminder that He really does know and care about us that astounds me. That is how I feel about this big life move we just made. Astounded and amazed at all the little "God connections" involved. So, I decided I just had to share a few of them with anyone interested....
[Part 2: "The Miracle Move" coming in a few days]

Part 1 (a/k/a "Desperate for a Truck")

[THE NEED]
Five or six months before we actually started moving, we started preparing for the big move. (OK... those of you who helped pack, don't laugh! I know you probably thought we only started 4 days before we left... but we really did start preparing.) One of the things we had decided on was downsizing a bit. (Again, packers... don't laugh.) Part of that downsizing was selling Missionary Man's current "dream truck" (which only seated 5) and purchasing an economical truck that seated six. We had planned to sell his truck and the small commuter car we had to pay for the truck. No biggie, right? Wrong.

Mix in this crazy, weird economy we have going on right now and the fact that the value of a used truck went up like crazy this past summer. We sold our first truck easy enough (to one very happy teenager who reminded me a lot of MM's personality... what fun). The problem was that we had set a price and a couple of "must haves" on the truck we wanted to purchase. (like seating 6)

Fast forward 5 + months later and one week before the move. (Which also happened to be the day of our anniversary.) We had still NOT found a truck in our price range. MM had been driving that little Toyota and I was starting to freak out because we were moving in a week and needed to pull a trailer.... with NO truck. MM had even been looking at some of those new trucks with the zero percent financing.

[THE TEST]
I had been selling furniture items from the house and trying to clean out stuff when MM comes home and I, well... er... had a little "woman fit" about getting a truck. [I know... there are those of you much more spiritual than I and you never have these.... but PTL we live under grace and God sent me a DH that handles these quite well. 'Nuff said.] Anyways, we sat down and had a heart to heart talk about what we really needed in a truck and that we did not need to incur any debt. Then I left to go buy more trash bags (shopping therapy and quietly praying in the store) and MM had his own little conversation with God.

I came home and MM said, "Well, I prayed and told God what our needs were. We need a truck with...[lot's o' details]... and in town... today.... because we just don't have the time to go and look for one right now.... And I just picked up the phone and called the in town dealerships and there just happens to be ONE on this lot in town... and it's [this price]....and I'd like to go look at it." So off drives MM with our eldest child to this dealership and I'm thinking in my mind..."What's wrong with this truck?" (OH, me of little faith.)

MM had taken our eldest child with him to look at the truck so he could show him what to look at when you are purchasing a vehicle. [A little economic homeschooling in action.] A nice young salesman watched as MM talked through the whole examination process with our son. [We later learned that he thought MM would start "bad mouthing" the truck in order to get a better deal.] Then MM called me up and had me look up prices and values on line. I gave him the info on the truck and the car as a potential trade in. Then I told him something that I had felt for a while, but wasn't sure that we could do.... we should give the car away instead of trading it in.

That man of mine, didn't bat an eye... just turned around and told the salesman lot's of nice things about me and that we weren't going to trade the car in, but give it away through the church. The older, manager salesman had walked in and was hearing all this and looking very oddly at MM. Then MM just asked the manager what his best cash price was.... and after about two sentences back and forth... had a price that made it so we had a truck paid for with cash and were able to give the car away! The young salesman was just astounded... he told MM he didn't know what just happened! [We do... it's a God thing.]


[THE WITNESS]
There is actually a bit more to this story... it is so much more than about a truck.

We had to go back the next day to finish up the paperwork and pick up the truck. When we went back these people came out to meet me! They wanted to meet MM's "bride" and his family. Apparently, in this secular, non-family-oriented world we live in... you don't see a man bring in his son to train him. Or hear a man be honest and straight forward when making a deal. Or see a family give away a vehicle. Or hear a man talk so positively about his wife and family (he was in a big hurry to get home for our anniversary date).

Apparently, MM had made such an impression on this young salesman that he went home and set a wedding date with his long term fiance'. He told us he "wanted what we had after fourteen years of marriage" and that "we had changed his life". The lady that did the paperwork in the office pronounced to all within hearing shot, "I've been married 30+ years... and my husband doesn't call me his bride!" The older manager had actually given MM a couple of hundred more dollars off the price of the truck so MM could take me on a "good anniversary date".

We felt so incredibly humbled. No, we are not so good.... but our God is. We just needed to be ready... Ready to wait for the right time... Ready to give a vehicle away (which was kinda' fun... actually!)... ready to just be patient for the Lord to finish the good work he had going on in those people's lives... as well as ours.

So, for our Anniversary this year, we got a long-awaited-very-blessed truck... within our price range (better actually) and with all the "must haves" that we needed (including seating 6!)... and a great story to go with it!

Blessings...


James 1:17-18 (New International Version)

17Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. 18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

Matthew 6:8
.....for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

I'll be back in a few days with Part 2!