The End

I've been giving you updates on the progress on our new car, and I didn't want to leave the subject without a conclusion.

God is so good!

I know that He has been with me through the entire experience. If it wasn't for Him, I would probably be wallowing daily in self-pity thinking, "Why did this have to happen to me, to us?"

If you've missed any part of our car journey, it actually started 10 months ago, when I made a personal declaration "I declare I will take things one step at a time, one day at a time, because God has not given me more than I can handle!" 6 months later, we purchased our car, and God was helping me through my darkest hour, which actually has become one of my most popular blog posts. Then a month later God was working on tearing down the walls that I had built. And my last update the light in me was towards the end, when I was feeling overwhelmed, and wanting the whole situation to be a thing of the past.

I am very happy to say, that the end is here. Or maybe it's that we've finally reached the beginning with this car.

At times it has seemed really silly to me that I've made this big deal out of our car, when it's just a car. But God has been using it to help me grow. I've prayed prayers over and over again, to build my faith, let me be an example to others, show me how much you love me, and God is faithful to answer. You can't be an overcomer unless you have something to overcome.

This journey really started 10 months ago when we were left with only one car for our family to drive. We couldn't afford a second car, so we had 6 months to pray, and wait, and learn patience. God has been there for me every single step of the way. My husband and I have learned to depend more on each other, and I have learned to depend more on God.

If this had happened years ago, I would have been consumed by worry, and not been able to cope or do much else. Each time I questioned what was happening, God answered me with a song, and a declaration.

I've often felt like I don't have much privacy since I began this blog. Every time I have a struggle, I feel like God is saying, "Share it! Maybe someone else can benefit from your pain and trouble."

I've had a few times where I've been proud, and not wanted to write for the world to see how I doubted God, or didn't trust Him. But each time, I eventually was brought to my knees and obeyed. Sometimes to obey, is to humble yourself before God and everyone. I would love to act like I have everything together, but it's actually far from the truth.

Last night at church, our pastor said something that really is sticking with me today. If you stop struggling, you're in trouble. There is always something that you have to be working on. If you want to pretend that you have it all together, you're only fooling yourself.

Our car is home at last.

I was thinking about it earlier this week, and asking God why did we have to go through all this? Why couldn't He have stopped us from buying the car?

He does not always stop things from happening to us. But I do believe He cries with us when they happen. I believe He was right next to us, shaking his head, thinking, "this is not good, but I'm going to make it right."

"We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Romans 8:28

"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy." 1 Peter 1:6-8

God not only was there as my faith was tested, but He had blessings for us all along the way.

The last update I gave was about the timing chain breaking while the mechanic was test driving our car after he had fixed the dented transmission pan. Between going back and forth with the warranty insurance we were given, it was decided our car needed a new engine.

I am so thankful we were given that insurance as it cut the cost of the engine in half. We were only responsible for $1400, as opposed to $3000. That may sound like a lot of money still, however, God provides! In the past 6 months, my husband was given a 30% raise at his job. That means we had enough money to pay the bill, and we weren't even required to break into our savings account.

God is so WOW!

If we were given this bill a year ago, or even 6 months ago, it would have made life very hard. But God's timing is perfect. He knows what you're going to need, and when you're going to need it. All you need to do is live faithfully for Him, and He will do the rest.

I now have a beautiful bright orange car, with air conditioning, a CD player, power windows, cruise control, a shoulder harness for even the middle back seat (I am really safety conscious so this was a HUGE blessing to get), and it runs perfectly. These are all things that our other car lacked.

The engine we replaced ours with only has 50,000 miles on it, compared to the 70,000 that we bought it with, so this was a blessing in disguise. Or maybe it was not so disguised. God works everything together for our good.


Through this whole process, God has done great things in me. If I was perfectly honest with myself, I wouldn't go back and change a thing. I have found that I'm much stronger that I ever would have given myself credit for.

When I used to look at the car, I would cringe. I couldn't see anything good. All I saw was the lies and dishonesty, the trouble it caused, the arguments with my husband that came from it, the fear and worry I battled with. But now I see God, and the work He's done through that car. It's not just a car to me. It's a symbol of God's provision and blessings in my life. It shows me how strong I am, and I know that with God's help, I can overcome anything.

With all that said, I will leave you with the words of my 3 year old son, Zechariah, "Us need to use that orange car!"
Liberty Truck Sales Mounds Oklahoma
http://libertytrucksales.net/