Saturday morning my husband and I got up early in hopes of making some progress in our search for a new vehicle. For those who don't know, our Dodge Stratus had recently morphed into a brick that now had no talent except for its ability to take up a parking space, and our F-150 was discovered to be on the verge of leaving us stranded somewhere. Amazingly, the truck had managed to keep going for the past 8,000 miles. Talk about the good Lord watching out for us. Needless to say, we've been hunting for a while. To be honest, it had really only been about a month since we started looking, but by Saturday, things had already become stressful and frustrating. To be frank, I am the type who loses heart rather quickly.
Let's face it, most people these days can't afford a brand new vehicle, and used cars are the more common choice as of late. Thank you recession! Unfortunately, we were looking at dismal options as possible solutions to our need for a car. Either we would have to fix our truck, which meant a lot of money that we knew not where it would come from, or we would purchase another salvage vehicle that would also need some type of repair. Neither seemed the right choice in my gut, but I felt it wasn't going to matter what I liked or didn't like or what I wanted. I was going to have to settle for whatever we could get for our little money.
Enter the mighty hand of God.
Saturday we got up and I made us breakfast. Scrambled eggs and cinnamon rolls. I like to put in a little more effort when we have a free Saturday morning. While I finished getting ready, my dear husband took our truck to get the oil changed in hopes of seeing some improvement in the engine behavior. When he returned, we headed to a Toyota dealership on the opposite side of town.
Now let it be known, we had one purpose for this trip, and that was to see what we could potentially get back if we traded in our truck. The outlook was pretty dim; a pre-salvage truck with lots of body damage, over 179,000 miles on it, and an engine that needed to be replaced. We hoped for $6000 for it, but knew that was highly unlikely. Who on earth would pay us that price for such a piece of junk? I know I wouldn't.
As we drove to the lot, I held my husband's hand and prayed to God for favor with the people we talked to, wisdom to make good choices for us and for our finances, and that the trip would at least teach us something and give us an idea of what direction to take afterward. I wasn't expecting what happened when we got there.
A sweet, amiable young man - let's call him Anthony (because that's his name) - greeted us and sat us down, and quickly asked us what we were looking for. We made our intentions clear, and we mutually knew where we stood and where we could bend, but also where we wouldn't budge. First we test-drove a vehicle. A 2010 Toyota Prius. I honestly thought I would hate this vehicle. I had sat in one at a salvage yard and was unimpressed and uncomfortable. But with gas mileage like that, I could deal. Beggars can't be choosers after all. Now God bless this young man, but maybe the first thing you say about a car is not how it won't decapitate you or cut off your legs in an accident. At least he was thorough. We got in and as my husband drove, I found myself falling in love with this car. I knew not to get too excited though; after all, we couldn't really make a purchase if things didn't go right. But at least I got a feel for the vehicle. Maybe the older one at the salvage yard that needed a whole new door would work out after all. We drove some more and Anthony talked to us about his one-year-old son, and soon we were back at the lot. It's a lovely car, shiny, and much newer than anything else we've looked at. Let's not hold our breath though. But here's where it gets good...
We went back inside and Anthony began to talk numbers with us. Again we made it plain what we needed to get back for our truck in order to be anywhere near capable of making a purchase. He went to see his guy, and when he came back, the answer was, "We'll give you $3000 for your truck." With a small lowering of our spirits, my husband expressed that he appreciated it, but the math just wouldn't work, and we were already preparing to leave. "Let me see what I can do," Anthony returns. He leaves again and goes to see someone else. My husband and I talk and jest with each other, expecting very little because, well, it's a piece of junk. Anthony returns, but he's accompanied by a broad-chested, tall gentleman who makes me feel like a mouse. Immediately I'm intimidated, but thankfully my sweet husband sits tall and holds his ground. The burly man explains to us that he can give us $4500 for the truck, but that's all as they do check the local auctions and sales to see what it runs for. Again we tell him we appreciate it and we understand his position, but the math just isn't in our favor without $6000 for the truck. Unexpectedly, "Let me see what I can do," and Anthony and the burly man are off again to the small back room. We wait again, trying to keep a positive outlook, and believing that our trip is over, and we'll be exiting the lot soon in our rattling truck.
Anthony returns again, with yet another character, of whom I'm much more pleased with. He's a slender man, about average height, and his demeanor makes me feel like I've known him for a while. Almost as if he was a next-door neighbor that loaned me a cup of sugar once. "We will give you $5500 for your truck today." The words come out, my husband does some quick calculations on my phone's calculator, and neither of us let slip the fact that our stomachs are turning with joy. I can see in my husband's face the sheer pleasure of having stood his ground and reaping the benefits of being firm with salesmen. "We can do that," he says, and the slender man smiles a kind smile that makes me glad. He shakes our hands and leaves us to Anthony to take care of the paperwork.
With butterflies in my stomach and a slight disbelief that we are actually about to make our first car purchase as a married couple, I soon find myself in a small office with Jason and the gentleman putting together our financing papers. After four hours, we're emptying the truck of our belongings and transferring them to a 2010 Toyota Prius, fully loaded with leather seats, GPS, a nice sound system, and the best gas mileage you can get outside of a fully electric car. It's perfect. It's exactly what we needed for the season we're in, and for the seasons to come.
I had spent an entire day that week depressed and discouraged about our situation, but my husband urged me to lift up my head and to thank God for the squeeze He placed on us. For the past three and a half years we've lived peacefully and with little financial struggles, praise God. But the weekend reminded us just how faithful our God is, and how He does see the things we need, and how He does care about those things. In our time of need, God saw our finances and the numbers we needed to make it all work. He saw what we needed in a vehicle, and set it aside before we knew where it was. He had us spend hours of annoying research so that we would come to an agreement on what we were looking for; a lesson in communication. Above all, the vehicle I sit in now with my husband as we drive to and fro reminds me that I can trust God; that I can lay my requests at His feet; that I don't have to worry about where the money will come from; that He is always good; that He always has a plan.
We serve a faithful God, and I hope that if you ever see me in our Prius, or you see a Prius on the road, that you are reminded of that truth.
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