God is a Provider

Today we brought home a new car, for FREE. It's not brand new, only new to us, but it is one of the biggest blessings of late in a long string of blessings. Now that God has provided Vince with a wonderful job, he's driving about 50 miles one way to work each day, so he needs some reliable wheels. Until today, we'd just had one car; my little Prizm was on its last legs and we weren't needing it, so we gave it to a friend from church for him to fix up and give to his brother. At the time, we both felt that was what God wanted us to do with it. But with the Explorer draining the gas at 100 miles a day, it was clear we needed a 2nd car for Vince. Our original plan was to find something on Craigslist for $1000 or less that we could pay cash for, even though that would have been a stretch on the budget. Then we started thinking since we want something we KNOW is really dependable, maybe it would be better to take out a small loan and get something a little newer, that we know for sure will be reliable. So I put in an application at the bank for pre-approval on a loan, and when I called to check on it, they said I'd been denied. What?! I still don't know why or how that could have happened, although after today I think the hand of God had A LOT to do with it.

Last night before I went to bed (discouraged and doubting, I must admit), I read from Streams in the Desert, and the concluding thought said something about faith meaning you remain confident in God, even in the apparent denial of your request. We were facing an apparent denial of our request, of our actual need, for a car, but I prayed as I fell asleep, telling God that I know He knows our need, and I know He is able to and will provide what we need.

This morning as we were eating breakfast, Vince got a call from a man at our church that we had not yet met. He had a car and wondered if we wanted to come look at it. We got ready, drove into Tulsa, and were GIVEN a car by this sweet couple who just didn't need it anymore. Vince was able to drive it a little, and it runs like a new car, even though it's a 1990 Oldsmobile (it reminds me of a smaller version of my old Stupid, for those of you who remember it!). It has fairly low miles, great AC, and even cruise control....blessing, blessing, blessing. I didn't get a picture before we dropped it off for an oil change, but I'll try to put one up soon so everyone can see our "new" car.

We are amazed at God's goodness and power to provide in such remarkable ways. This journey we've been on the last few months has been so good in how we've seen His glory at work in our lives. Thank you Jesus!