Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Traveling In Style


Once again I am posting my Memorial Box Monday on Tuesday! I am linking up with Linny at A Place Called Simplicity where we share stories of God's love, grace, provision and power in our lives. Remembering God's many blessings helps strengthen our faith during tougher times, and reminds us of how God answers our prayers!

Our van has around 200,000 miles on it and was needing to be repaired more and more often, so for over a year we had been talking about how we were going to buy a newer van. As time passed we continued to thank God for our van continuing to be trustworthy, while praying about finding a different one. We figured we could make a payment if we were really careful, but a trade in would be impossible. Why? Well, because I have something called Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. I react badly to chemicals of all kinds and gas, wood smoke, fragrances....and more. When you buy a used van it has always been detailed and has a smell most people like, but my body finds dangerous. When you buy a van from a private owner you are never sure of what you are getting. When you buy a new van, it has all the smells of new plastic, formaldehyde, foam, etc. This is not something that goes away in a month...or even six. We would have to keep both vans until I could safely ride in the newer one. It was going to be a challenge and when you add to that our health issues, just having the energy to look for a van would be difficult. We began to pray.

Little did we know that our oldest son and his wife were looking at trading in their van for a different kind of vehicle. They knew our van was getting old and that we were talking about getting a new one, and they were willing to sell us their van and not use it for a trade in. They called us one day and asked us if we were interested in purchasing their van, which we could finance through our son's credit union at his job, which we discovered would give us the lowest interest rates. We were definitely interested, so our son drove it up here and Joel drove it and checked it out to see if it would work for us. It is the same kind as we drive, but was only one year old, with few miles, and sporting some of the gadgets he likes such as temp. direction, etc.!! Exciting!

Just like that our prayers were answered. We were able to purchase a van from private owners whom we know very well and could trust (smile), and it did not take any real effort on our part to find it. We still have our old van for me to ride in until the newer van "outgasses" enough for me to travel safely, and Joel has a new vehicle for getting to work and when he travels without me! God took care of it all. it could have been a long, stressful journey to find a new vehicle to drive, but God had it all worked out. And our gracious son and daughter-in-love were the instruments God used to answer our prayers!

I am going to put a match box van in our Memorial Box to remind us of how God took care of all the details without us having to buy a "detailed" van!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a wonderful blessing. God can take a situation that seems almost impossible and work it out.

Catalina said...

Thanks for visiting my site, and I am glad I visited your as well. I enjoyed reading your story. God really does provide for us even in little things in life. What an awesome blessing. :)

Fliterary said...

God is soooooo good! Praising Him for His abundant blessings. :)

Annesphamily said...

Renne I always seem to have a peace and comfort when I stop by. You are one remarkable lady. Thank you for all your kindnesses over here. Have a terrific weekend. Blessings Anne