Picture: A 2007 Saturn Ion
One may look at the picture and wonder what this automobile has to do with the power of prayer. Please allow me to explain.
On Saturday January 19th, 2008, my fiancee Stacey and I almost purchased this car. We have an older mini-van (a 1996 Grand Voyager), which is starting to show it's age. The transmission has been replaced twice, electrical systems work when they want to, there are dents and dings and to top it off, our windshield cracked all the way across a few weeks before this.
I had scheduled an appointment to have a used windshield installed (It was $225 used, where a new one was like $325) on Monday the 21st of January. We discussed this and decided to try and get a different vehicle, instead. Enough money had been poured into the old van, we thought.
Sure enough, a local dealership in the Twin Cities area said they could get us in a car. Truth be told, neither of us has great credit. Stacey has been a struggling single mom who was left with bills and attorney fees from a bad marriage/relationship. Me? Well, if you read my testimony, you'll understand that I did not live in the world of responsible and law-abiding people. I had used every resource to benefit me and my addiction, including my credit. My score is like 508 or something. BAD.
We had figured it out in our budget, and we could afford about a $400 cash downpayment, we hoped to get about $1500 trade in allowance and our monthly payment could be as high as $150 (maybe pushed up just a little, but not much). The dealer had sent us info on a Kia Sedona (2003) which ran around $6999. A payment would hit in at around $120 so it seemed perfect.
When we got there, we were informed that we did not qualify for this car. We had to get a newer car with a value of around $10,000 to qualify for "special financing". Also that me and my income would not be helpful and it should be on Stacey's credit and income, alone.
Some (what I'd call shady) things started happening in the quest for finances at this point. Nothing which one could call illegal, but surely questionable. Now, my old self would have been right on board with this practice. I would have been lying and helping myself in whatever way I could to achieve my ends. I even heard that old man talking to me, but fortunately Christ has not given me a spirit of timidity but of strength, power and love. I was able to refrain from such immoral behavior and rebuke these thoughts. Praise God!
Still, Satan was not finished. The salesman came back, stating that if we had $500 (instead of the $400 we could afford), that if we agreed to a payment of $313 per month and took the only car they offered (pictured above), then we would just sign and walk away, driving home the new car.
Temptation was there. However, God told me to resist the Devil and he will flee from me. Now, I could have took a dump and came up with the extra $100. We could have signed the paper and BANG! There we'd be, driving home. I knew, however that I needed a moment. Not to think things through in my head, but to simply ask God for a solution.
So, I tell the salesman that the only way I can really do the extra $100 is to give him my credit card and they could bill it in a month for the $100. He said he'd have to ask his manager (of course), but didn't think it'd be a problem. As soon as he left, I started talking to God. I asked him for a solution. He knew we needed a good vehicle, reliable transportation. But He also knew as I did, that there was no way we could afford the $313 payment and even giving the entire $400 plus another $100 would put us behind the eight-ball, so to speak. I asked Him for guidance and help, and thanked Him for allowing me to even be here, alive.
3 or 4 minutes later, the salesman returned. He was puzzled and said, "I don't understand, but the bank just called back". Something (God) had popped up a red flag, and all the sudden we'd have to wait until Monday to get a managers approval (which should not be a problem, he said). He apologized and said he didn't know what happened.
I knew what happened. God took care of his one lost sheep, once again. As much as we wanted that car, we knew it was wrong and the wrong thing to do. I thank God for His divine intervention.
To top it off, we get back in the old car to go home. As we are about 10 minutes into our trip, my cell phone rings. On a Saturday afternoon, guess who it is? It's the glass repair company "just confirming" my appointment on Monday to replace the windshield on our car. To me, it was "just a confirmation", alright. A confirmation that we were doing the right thing.
There is one other thing. Monday, when I went to get the used auto-glass installed, Stacey and I waited as they installed it (about an hour and a half). It was boring and we were both tired as it was like 5pm and we had both had long days. They finally come out and say that it is almost ready. They also said that we were "lucky", as they could not find the used windshield and the guy had already started the job when he realized this. They gave us a new windshield for the $225 quoted price instead of the $325, which a new on usually costs! A reward for obedience? I don't believe that, but it was surely a blessing from God.
Here's once last thing. Stacey, my fiancee. It is so cool. She was on board with "whatever I had decided to do". She didn't complain, whine or ask for her own way. She didn't try to force the hand and make us walk away with the car. She's awesome and God gave her to me. I am so blessed.
Thank you, God.
God Bless You!
Ed Yaekle
1 comment:
Flash forward 2 1/1 years from this blog entry:
We ended up with a really decent 1999 Mercury Villager which was a one-owner van in terrific shape. We were financed by a high-risk lender and they reported our payments every week. Our payments were always on time so our then horrible credit rating jumped up about 150 points!!
Once that loan was paid off, we went and bought a really nice 2002 Chevy Trailblazer which is awesome. (except the gas mileage lol)
The point is to ask, receive and lay it all down before the throne. I would have had a car I couldn't afford and likely had repossessed if I would have followed MY instincts instead of His.
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