Have you
ever been tempted to buy beyond your means? Sandra Wilkins and her husband,
Frank, were in that predicament after the engine on their car blew up. They
knew they had to replace the vehicle. |
Sandra
tells her story: |
The agent
who assessed the damage gave us a check for $2,750 in exchange for what was
left of the car. Check in hand, Frank and I set off car hunting. |
On an extremely
hot day in July, we test-drove used car after used car. Most were
losers--foul odors, broken air conditioners, and the like. I kept praying I
would not say something that might provoke an argument with my husband. It
wasn't easy when he would make positive comments about a car that had nothing
going for it but the price. How I wished we could afford a Dodge mini-van! |
We kept
reminding each other that God blessed us with $2,750 to purchase the car we
needed, not the car we wanted. But there really wasn't much to look at. |
Just when
we were about to give up and go home, I suggested we shop at one more used
car lot. There we saw a beautiful Oldsmobile Bravado--the best car we'd seen all
day. And I admit we started to drool over it. Maybe we could go for it. Frank
remarked, "Wouldn't this be nice? We could take out a loan and go into
debt." |
But Frank
regained his senses when the dealer came and asked how much we wanted to
spend--or at least he nearly regained his senses. Frank said, "Oh,
$3000." |
The dealer
didn't laugh. He just said, "What type of car are you looking for?" |
"A
Dodge mini-van," Frank answered. |
"I'll
go check with the manager. Maybe he took in something today and hasn't sent
it to the wholesaler yet." |
He
returned in a few minutes. "As a matter of fact, we have one used Dodge
mini-van that was traded today, and my manager will take $3000." |
By now my
husband was saying to himself, "The Lord gave us $2,750--not $3,000--so
why did I say that?" Though we probably could have managed the
difference without going into debt, we didn't really want to. |
The
salesman pointed out a clean, great-looking Dodge mini-van--a winner compared
to the ones we had driven earlier. We told the dealer we needed time to pray.
After we prayed, we felt all right about purchasing it, but my husband was
still kicking himself for saying $3000. |
By now it
was the end of the day. Frank told the dealer we would take the mini-van if
they would check for any major problems. The manager said okay, but ... if
they inspected it and found something wrong, they would be obligated to fix
it; in which case the price of the car could go up. Having explained that,
the dealer slid a piece of paper over to us: $2,750 final price. Take it or
leave it. |
We could
hardly believe our eyes. Without even discussing it with him, we had gotten a
good car--and it was a good car--for the exact price we could afford. |
Apparently,
God is even in the used car business. How easy it would have been for us to
give in to our desire for the more expensive car and go into debt. But we
were blessed by waiting for the car of God's choice, one we could pay for. |
Sandra and
Frank saw God meet both their needs and their wants--miraculously and on the
very day they asked. |
|
From:
Miracles Happen When You Pray by Quin Sherrer, 1997, pag. 46-48, Zondervan
Publishing House, |