I am, what some might refer to as a control freak. Now, I'd like to believe this is getting better as years pass. I have learned to talk to God about things and am working hard to trust Him to deal with them. As with many people, money is one area in which I struggle greatly with the challenge God gives us when He says, "Do not worry about tomorrow."
Money is tight for everyone now days and then you add Christmas and it usually gets tighter. I can tend to be a penny-pincher. Definitely on the frugal side and very definitely on the over dramatic side when expenses start to add up. This month expense after expense was adding up and I was just about to go ballistic. Each time something came up I wanted to shout, "Awww, com'on! For real?" These were not expenses I planned, nor were they the type that got you into a vacation spot with palm trees and ocean breeze.
Anyway...one of these expenses was our van. We had to get new tires for it, which made Shawn and I quite grumpy. Seeing as our van was just 2 months old, used, but according to the dealership, all checked out and supposedly everything that wasn't at least running at 60% or above, was replaced. Well, it turns out our tires were so bad that our whole car and steering wheel were shaking and Les Schwab said two were too dangerous to drive on and the other two weren't looking so hot either. Pretty much, not 60% or above.
Shawn wrote a letter into the dealership, explaining what had happen and why he was disappointed in their salesmanship. He included the receipt from Les Schwab and sent it off asking for reimbursement. We pretty much felt it was most likely an exercise in futility, but also felt better by doing it.
Then after we got the van back, we had to take our little Echo in (which it was about time, since it is over 103,000 miles with only new brakes and tires...I really can't complain too much). But as we drove away, I held Shawn's hand and prayed, "Lord...this really is your money and you can do with it what you like. Thank you for your faithfulness and help us to trust You with what you have given us."
About an hour later the dealership calls and talks to Shawn, in the end, offering to reimburse the tires. About two hours after that, the service people call and tell us the total estimate to fix the Echo. It cost $2 less to fix the Echo than the reimbursement for the tires! No joke! God is so good!! He answered a huge prayer in under 3 hours...how cool!
And this is why serving God is so fun and so exciting! You really never know when a miracle is gonna pop up. I am sure they pop up more frequently than I notice. But maybe part of this miracle is having my eyes opened to his graciousness and the gifts He wants to lavish us with.
It reminds me of how excited I am to give Gavin and Brayden their presents...to watch them open them, to see the light in their eyes, and to know I have pleased them. It is confounding that the God of the universe loves us in this way. That His heart flutters at my excitement over free new tires. That He is happy when I am happy. That He longs to show us just how much He loves us. As though sending His Son, Jesus, wasn't enough, He continues to pour out His love and fixes our cars to boot!
Thank you Father God, for taking such tremendous care of us!
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