A “Van”ity Fair

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God” (I John 3:1, NIV).

When I was growing up my mother always made us write thank you notes for Christmas and birthday gifts and everything in between. I hated it, not because I wasn’t grateful. I simply didn’t want to sit down and write them out. As a mom I have to admit I’m not very good at getting my kids to sit down and do this every time the occasion calls for it. Emily Post would be very disappointed! However, this time little prompting is needed to say thank you to God for His provision again and to hopefully encourage you by telling the story. The details are tedious but bear repeating.

My husband and I drive a 2004 Honda Odyssey. Over the years, this van has had one problem after another. If it was a two-year old it would have experienced more than one spanking and time alone in its “room”. If it was a teenager, I would have grounded it and taken away its electronics which would prove to be fruitless since half of the electronics on the thing don’t work!.

I don’t know what the deal is as this brand typically has a great reputation. We must have gotten a lemon. Recently, it broke AGAIN, and the bill was going to be $546. Now, I am not the type of person that has that kind of money sitting around. At first I figured we would just share the truck (another vehicle that frequently tests my patience), until we could save enough money to get it fixed.

I always set aside half of the mortgage payment so I don’t have to pay it all off of one check. Since I had that set aside we went ahead and took the van in to get it fixed. This left us with two weeks to come up with that mortgage money. I could do it with all of the houses I was cleaning over the next two weeks, but that would mean that we would be eating whatever I could find in the cupboards because I wouldn’t have much money for groceries.

I’ve been down this road before, and typically I start to cry and freak out. This time, for some reason, I laughed and told the Lord He must have some crazy trick up His sleeve, and I couldn’t wait to see what it was. I didn’t think of it again. Please understand this is not because I’m super spiritual. Quite the contrary. For some reason, this time around my initial response was to trust that He would meet my needs. He’s done it before. Why should this time be any different?

A couple of days later, before we even took it in to have the work done, a very sweet friend came over to the truck as I waited for my son to finish basketball practice. She knocked on the window and said she had a present for me. Yay! I love presents! She held up an enormous shopping bag and announced that she had brought me 11 freezer meals, 12 breakfast burritos and a ridiculously oversized container of taco soup which by the way happens to be my favorite.

I started to laugh. It was a hug from God. What else can I say? I thanked her profusely, vowed to get a thank you note in the mail, and uttered a prayer to God, “Wow. You really do love me. I really am worth Your time.”

Two things: First, I’m always shocked at God’s provision which is ridiculous and probably insulting. Second, is He amazing or what? I’d love to hear what amazing things He’s done for you lately. Leave me a note in the comments section below. One of the best things we can do for each other and for our individual faith is to tell of His works. Praise begets praise, no?

By the way, when I picked up the van the bill “only” came to $490. Do you know what I can do with an extra $56?