The Story: Provision. Again.

I've been dragging my feet through these adjustments and (sometimes) trials these last several months, but that should never take away from the provision of God that we've seen on our behalf again and again.  I don't think I am clear enough about how obvious his hand is evident in our lives from day to day.  That's one of those things I'd like to unload more in writing when I have more time to focus.

I've been wanting to write about the last couple weeks, specifically a few little things.  I keep thinking I need to make time, but it hasn't happened. But between yesterday and today, I am amazed yet again at how well we're taken care of daily.  And I think it's time I give testimony to the surprising little ways our life's puzzle pieces have fallen into place lately. (Even though the picture that's taking shape is not one I would have picked for myself if I had been in charge of such things.  More on that later.)

If you're in a hurry...there's a bulleted summary below.  For those of you who like the details, here you go.

About 3 weeks ago, after number crunching, it became clear that we needed to decrease our outflow very quickly if we were going to truly live within our means, which we feel is a high priority.  We decided we had to sell at least one of our cars to be out from under the payments, realizing selling both would be ideal.  We haven't been a one-car family for several years, and it wasn't appealing to us, but we felt it was what had to be done. The plan was that if we could sell both of them, we'd get something cheap just to get us around while we made arrangements in our budget to be sure everything was covered that was needed.  We decided to list both cars, see what went first, and then go from there. 

The next day, before we'd even put out the info for the cars, my mom called to tell me they had found a new-to-them minivan that was just what they wanted and she asked if we might buy their old van for a ridiculously low price.  I'm talking less than 10% of the Kelley Blue Book value.  Wow. I said that was a deal we couldn't pass up and miraculously timed.  I've been wanting a minivan for the space and ease of in-and-out for the kids in carseats and such, so this was a great opportunity.

We only posted the info about the cars in one place.  M's old employer in C-U has an inter-office intranet with classifieds on it, and our very super marvelous friend and M's former boss, Jessi, offered to post the info and field inquiries on that first level.  I sent her the info, and I admit I didn't think much would come of it. 

The first day I think I had 2 people contact me for more info, one wanting to see it after some email discussion.  We live 3 hours from there now, so we talked about how we'd get together, making plans for the following weekend.  That was a Friday, if I remember right, and we (my sister Rachel and I) spent all day Saturday detailing the cars and making them ready for showing.  I sent the new pics to Jessi on Monday and got another inquiry that day from a very excited young lady.  All the interest was on my car, the Altima, but this girl was just plain excited about the car.  She asked questions, saw all the pics, sent the info to her husband in Afghanistan. Tuesday afternoon she said she had a green light from him, and we arranged for her to meet us half way to drive the car on Wednesday afternoon and decide for sure.  She drove it, loved it, and bought it right then.  I hated to let go of that car, but it was the right thing to do.

My parents were out of town, with the old van, for a two-week trip.  So we knew we wouldn't be getting the van right away, and that was ok.  Then we get the call that the van has been in an accident (minor, everyone is safe)so it will be about 3 weeks til we can have use of it.  

At this same time, I'm in email discussion with someone from M's former employer again about the Mazda.  She was quite serious and wanted to arrange a time to see it, very soon.  Suddenly we don't have access to the van AND we may sell the last car we have.  Calls were made, possible scenarios were organized.  My parents have other vehicles available so we'll have something to drive if we need it.

The interested party for the Mazda decides not to move on it just now, and we're ok with that due to the circumstances.  Perfect timing, since we needed the car. 

Then yesterday, the Mazda is vandalized and things are stolen.  Thankfully, there were witness who took great notice of the perpetrator and the vehicle he was in.  Not even two hours later the culprit is caught, the items are found. 

Now to fix the window on the car.  It can't be done that day, the forecast calls for rain, and I have appointments that must be kept.  Wait! A call to Julie confirms that her van is not going to be used for the weekend, and she says she'll bring it over in a bit.  The Mazda is swept out thoroughly and parked in the garage to wait for a new window.

M gets a tip from another county department for a guy who can get us a new window.  M calls him, and he sets an appointment for 24 hours later.  He'll come to the house and put in a new one, and the price is right!  He came this morning, he replaced the window quickly, and as he was leaving, he asked if we liked the car. He said he could be interested, when I told him we liked it but were selling it. 

This is when I laughed and shook my head...  wouldn't it be so crazy cool if the whole vandalizing and theft was only the means with which to cross paths with the intended buyer of the vehicle?!?  You can't hardly make this stuff up! (And maybe it was also to catch a guy who has obviously been down this thieving road before.)

The bottom line is this...for every thing that has come up and made me drop into a chair and sigh, something else has come to light soon after to let me know we're going to be ok.  As the sighs continue, the provisions do as well.

Life is not easy.  Things don't always resolve so quickly. But I'm thankful that for now, in this season, God is choosing to remind us often that he's got our backs.  He's in control.  He may not always remove the problem, but he'll always provide an answer when it's needed.  It might not be the one I would prefer, but it is ALWAYS the best one, even if I am unable to see it until much later.

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To summarize:
~Oh no...we have to sell our car(s).
~Yay! We can buy Mom and Dad's van for cheap!
~Oh no...we have a buyer for the Mazda but no access to the van yet.
~Oh no...the van gets in an accident and must be repaired before we can get it.  It will be 3 weeks.
~Yay! (kind of) The buyer is on hold for a bit. We can drive the Mazda for now.
~Oh no...the Mazda get's vandalized and broken into. Things are taken.
~Yay! Someone saw the thief and reported it immediately.
~Yay! The guy is caught and the stuff is retrieved!
~Oh no...the window is broken and we've got no back-up car.  And it's going to cost money to fix it that we don't have.
~Yay! Julie doesn't need her van for the weekend so we can use it.
~Yay! The glass guy can come out the next day to the house to fix the window and he gave us a great deal!
~Yay! The glass guy is actually interested in buying the Mazda.