We had a little money in the bank, so I figured we could hole up for the winter, in our little Florida home.
I enjoyed about a week break until the old vehicle decided she wanted a break, too.
After multiple trips to the mechanic, I was on a first name basis with one of the salesman, the service manager, general manager and a few of the mechanics.
The mechanics were so tired of keeping ol’ Bessie on life support they were begging one of the salesman to sell me a car.
But... I don't buy new cars. Ever.
After swapping war stories and kicking tires just for something to do, salesman Bob, became more than just a salesman, he became a friend.
I couldn’t believe I said it when I said it, but after I did, it felt right, and I was glad I did.
“I’ll go home and talk to my wife and God, and let you know…tomorrow.”
On the way home (about a ten-minute drive) I prayed something like: " Lord, you know everything. You know I don’t want to spend a bunch of money on a new car. You know I’m in-between deployments and shouldn’t step into a monthly payment without a monthly income, so...if we’re going to need a new vehicle—” I patted the steering wheel—“if ol’ Bess isn’t gonna make it, please, provide a monthly income as well…today.”
I was less than a mile from the house when I said that prayer.
Before I pulled in the driveway, the phone rang.
"Hey Doug, we just had something open up, would you be interested in a desk adjuster job?"
Wow! I thought.
"No" I said…
"Not if I have to live on the road again. I just got home from an eight-month stint.”
"Nope, you can work from home. It pays ($$$) per day. Are you interested?"
“WOW!” I said
No-way! I thought. God really heard may prayer—and that’s really good pay.
But, the story doesn’t end there.
The only requirement for our vehicle was it needed three seats, so the grandkids could ride. “It doesn’t have to be fancy, it doesn’t need bells and whistles, ‘cuz I won’t toot ‘em anyway. All it has to do is get us from A to B.”
Well, out of all the vehicles there was only one on the lot that had three seats. It was bran-new, not too fancy, so it would work.
When I told my wife, what had happened, she was excited, of course, but she said, “Don’t they have any used vehicles?” She thinks like me.
That night, a used vehicle showed up on the lot. It was almost new, only about ten thousand miles, they still offered the new car warranty, it had three seats and more bells and whistles than we’ll ever figure out how to use...it was a whole lot cheaper and a whole lot fancier that we’d ever have chosen for ourselves.
I called the salesman...we have a new Bessie in the drive…and everyone at the dealership, from mechanics to management, are talking about how God answers prayer.
