I have found that the Lord very much cares about the little things in our life, including our stuff! I needed to find a new car and so I prayed and asked the Lord to help me find it. Soon on a little trip I drove by one that I really liked the look of and stopped to look it over. This was a “for sale by owner” car and as I looked, a man came out to show it to me. He said it was his brother’s car and then proceeded to talk me out of buying it. I had full intention of buying it, but he looked at what I was driving and said that I wouldn’t be happy with it; and proceeded to tell me just what I wouldn’t like about it.  I commend him for his honesty and wondered if his brother knew about his salesman technique.

But I had prayed so the Lord was involved and He definitely had other plans in mind for me and that weekend; I was led me to a car show in my hometown. The very next car I laid eyes on was sweet, and I clearly heard in my heart, “This is your car.” Now this time, I had my dad with me and he quickly steered me over to a station wagon that he had spotted and liked. I could see the pleased gleam in his eye. I love my dad dearly, but I was in my early twenties and a station wagon just wasn’t what I had in mind.  I can be stubborn when armored with the clear voice of the Lord and, much to my dad’s dismay, I went ahead and bought the other car. This little dream was sporty and like-new with only 8,000 miles on it. The former owner had bought it new and then was transferred to Colorado, so he had traded it in on a four-wheel drive.

Many years later, I was now married and the day came when the tires wore out. Not having any money for tires, my husband and I prayed for new ones. I was delighted, knowing they would be there soon, but he was so upset about the condition of my tires that he had a hard time waiting; in other words, if we had the money he wouldn’t have waited for the answer to prayer. I know he was worried about me driving on bald tires, but had we done that, we would have missed out on God’s miraculous provision.

A few days later I was driving down the road and clearly heard Him tell me to pull into a grocery store, that my tires were listed on the board. That was when grocery stores often had bulletin boards with index cards posting things for sale. My old tires squealed as I turned the car in, and I nearly did as well; I was so excited that I had heard from HIM. I raced in and there it was, the index card with my tires on it, 4 tires and 2 snows in like-new condition. Still no money, but full of faith, I raced home to call; only to reach a recording stating, “Your call cannot be completed as dialed.” “Please check the number and try again.” You know, God doesn’t lead you to His answer and then say, “Oh well, sorry.” No, if it seems like it’s not working, you wait for Him to work out all the details. I assured my husband that I couldn’t get through because we didn’t have the money yet. “The call will go through when the money comes in to buy the tires.” I firmly stated. So, we waited and I continued to call every day and every day I reached the same recording. At the end of the week, our income tax refund check came in the mail and that same day the call finally went through— a man answered.

Now this guy told me that the tires were brand-new and only had towing mileage on them, from Nebraska to Michigan. He had built a car and had towed it here, but when they arrived and started the car up, the engine blew up, and the only usable thing left was the tires. He didn’t get a single call all week, imagine that, and so he agreed to come down in price; since the snows were studs which are illegal in Michigan and not useful to us. That night my husband came home from work with a look of amazement on his face. His boss had handed him a bonus check and another check as well for back-pay that we didn’t even know we were owed. The Lord had provided in ABUNDANCE!

So, the car the Lord picked out for me, we drove for 9 1/2 years and didn’t put a dime into it except for the new tires, brakes, gas and a new exhaust; maintenance that every car requires. But now our growing family required a bigger car. Again, we had no money, but someone bought a used car, in showroom condition, and blessed us with—a station wagon 🙂

I gave the other car to friends; scrubbed and polished, with a big red bow on the steering wheel. Two weeks later the battery died, and the seat fell through the floor. I was shocked. I thought I was giving them a wonderful gift. It showed very little rust and I never knew you ever had to buy new batteries; I had driven that car all those years and it never even coughed at all—I only knew it to be a BLESSING.