"Lord, don't let it die on me now!" I pleaded as my van and I came to a stop at a stop sign. I was supposed to be meeting up with a church friend for lunch. My van had been having more and more difficulties. The truth was, I needed a new vehicle badly. I didn't know just how badly!
After stopping at the sign like a good, law-abiding citizen, I took my foot off the break and applied it to the gas pedal. Nothing. "Come on! Don't do this!" As if it understood me, the van lurched forward, but it wasn't promising. I didn't know what to do! Looking up, I saw a garage to my right. I had used them before, and been satisfied. Knowing my van might not go much further, I saw this as Providential as I pulled into the parking lot. God hadn't let me get stranded in some inconvenient place. That was something to be thankful for.
I had just gotten my tax refund, and I found myself wondering how much of it would be going into this repair.
After checking it in and giving the mechanic my cell number, I then found myself with a new problem. I was supposed to meet up with my friend. The restaurant was three miles away, and we were supposed to meet in ten minutes. I walk fast, but not that fast!
This was when a second miracle occurred (the first being that my van was almost dead right near the mechanic). I looked up and saw that the bus was coming to a stop right at the curb! It was the bus that went right by the restaurant! I could just make it! I hopped on and paid my dollar-twenty-five. I arrived just as my friend Ruth was getting out of her car.
We enjoyed a pleasant lunch. Somewhere in the middle of it all, the mechanic called to tell me some very bad news. My van was too far gone. Now what?
I told Ruth, and the two of us prayed together.
"I have an idea," Ruth said after we finished. "My husband wants to sell cars to auctions. He might be interested in buying it from you." A quick call to her husband revealed that yes, he was interested. He offered me $100 more than the junkyard would have paid me. "If you can get it to our house," he added.
By this point, I saw too much of God at work to doubt the car would make it the few miles to their home.
This left only one problem. Yes, I had my tax refund, and now the triple-digit check I would be given for my van, but how would I afford another vehicle?
Just then, my phone rang again. This time, it was my sister. She and her husband were getting ready to move from California to Idaho. They were significantly down-sizing, and wanted to know if I wanted their second car, free of charge!
Ruth and I were overwhelmed at how fast this was all coming together. We rejoiced, thanking the Lord! We made the plan. She would drive me from the restaurant to my van. I would drive it (praying the whole time it would make it!) to her house, following her. She would then drive me to my sister's, and I could get my new (to me) car!
As I followed Ruth to her house in my dying van, a scripture came to mind. Isaiah 55:12 You will go out with joy and be led forth with peace... That is exactly how I felt as I drove. The sun was shining brightly. God was at work. It was so clear. I felt deep joy surging through my being.
To quickly wrap up the first part of this miraculous story, my clunker van made it (Ruth's husband paid me right away and then sold it within a few weeks). I got my "new" car from my sister. I was able to get it smogged (a California requirement for cars) before the shop closed. The next day, I was able to switch the title and insurance to my name. This was great! God had really provided!
If the scripture theme of the first part of this story is Isaiah 55:12, the verse I would give to part two is this: John 12:24 ...unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
I had owned my car four days. I had told everyone how God has miraculously worked everything out. I was coming home from work that day. It was late afternoon, and the sun was sinking. I was almost home. The traffic light was red, so I slowed down, preparing to stop. Quickly, though, the light turned green before I was stopped, so I sped back up and entered the intersection.
CRASH! I felt an impact hit the side of the car, right behind me. I heard the sound of medal crumpling. I was spinning. It happened too fast to be afraid yet.
I came to a stop facing the opposite direction, on the other side road, but still in the intersection. What had just happened? At that moment, I felt real grief. In one fell swoop, I had lost my miracle car. What did it all mean? It wasn't my fault. My light was green.
I tried to get out, but the door was smashed shut.
"Ma'am, are you alright?" a woman ran to the side.
I rolled down the window. "I can't get out."
"Maybe you should stay inside," she advised. "It wasn't your fault, by the way. I saw it. The other driver ran a red light."
I appreciated her reaching out, but I had to get out of the car. I climbed to the passenger side and got out.
"Janelle, are you okay???"
"Janelle, are you okay???"
I turned to see Mrs. Dawson, a woman I knew from Bible study.
"Mrs. Dawson?"
"Yes!" She gave me a hug. "My family saw the whole thing. We'll help you make the report to the police."
The Dawson family are very special people. Salt of the earth. I later found out their daughter, twelve-year-old Chrissy (one of my former Bible students), was sharing the gospel with the other driver and her hysterical daughter. Only God could have orchestrated that.
A police officer blocked off the intersection and took the report. Paramedics looked me over.
The other driver apologized profusely. The setting sun had blinded her, and she had thought her light was green. She took full responsibility right away.
The Dawsons gave me a ride home (before going back to give the other driver and her daughter a lift). They prayed with me before they left me.
I got inside my house, and I broke down crying. How could this have happened? I was so sure God had worked everything out for me to get this car...now it was hopeless! I slept fitfully all night. Every slamming sound (car doors outside, etc) woke me up with a start.
The long and short of it was this: my car was totaled. My heart was heavy. But here's where things start getting really amazing.
The other driver's insurance covered me to have a brand-new rental car for two weeks, and paid me a very generous check for my totaled car. A friend found out about a man a few blocks from me who was a car dealer, but sold them at his house. I took a test drive, and fell in love with what was to become my new car. It had a salvaged title (meaning it had been totaled at one point, but repaired). It was in excellent condition, but because of the salvaged title, it was being sold for a very low price--half the amount of the check from the insurance company! All this and I still had my tax refund and the amount I'd been paid for my van!
That car, my Ford Taurus, has proven to be a faithful car. Not long after all this, I met and married my husband. We lived in the San Bernardino mountains. The faithful Ford Taurus kept us safe on the winding (sometimes icy) mountain roads. It faithfully got us halfway across the country when we moved from California to South Dakota. It continues to faithfully get us where we need. God knew exactly what He was doing all along. Had I gotten in the accident with my dying van, I surely wouldn't have gotten such a good check. Had I not gotten in the accident and just kept my sister's old car, I would never have learned as much as I did about God's redemptive power. Plus, this car is a little bit better. God knew all this!
Whenever my faith is weak, I look back on this miraculous series of events. God clearly showed me Himself at work all through this. My van dying right at the mechanic; the bus pulling up right then; Ruth's husband willing to buy the van; my sister wanting to give her car to me right then; my van making it to Ruth's; getting my sister's car smogged and registered in my name so quickly; the accident at that exact moment in time; nobody being hurt; the Dawson family being right there and minstering to all of us involved; the other driver taking complete responsibility; the insurance getting me that rental; the very generous check; the inexpensive vehicle being sold just blocks from me. These things don't just happen. They're not coincidences. God was involved in all of it.
I don't even believe this experience was so unique. I think God is always at work in our lives. He just showed me in a very concentrated way. It might not always seem dramatic like that, but God is always faithful.
No comments:
Post a Comment