If there was ever, ever any doubt.....

About the presence and power of GOD, let today's events put that doubt to rest. Today was the last day I was to have use of the rental so I had started looking in earnest for a replacement for the Buick. Thursday and yesterday I started looking on Autotrader.com for a car. I had a couple of leads, I had decided I wanted a Ford Taurus if at all possible, but at the very least a Ford, Nissan, Toyota, or Mitsubishi as these are all makes that are sold and serviced by my company. That way any repairs would be at a deep discount. Since it was going to be at least until tomorrow and possibly several days before I found a vehicle I liked and could afford I was going to borrow my parents Mitsubishi. This afternoon they brought it up to my work and told me they were going to run over to a nearby Mitsubishi dealership. Dad had read that Mitsubishi was having a hard time selling vehicles and they might be willing to make a good deal. I said ok, see you later and went back to work. About a half hour later I happened to be in the shop talking with one of our detail guys when I saw my Dad walking as quick as he could in the rain towards me. Not expecting him, I darted off to meet him at the door. He told me "I have a car for you" and pointed back behind him. Idling in the rain was a Ford Aerostar minivan! We both dashed back to it (it was raining pretty good) and climbed in. The salesman had taken them on a test drive to let me see it. The guy told me it had just been traded in (yesterday to be exact) and they were planning on asking $2500 but since I had cash in hand (literally as I had been carrying it around with me, cash talks B.S. walks) he was going to try to get it out the door for $1600 (what Dad told them he was looking for) so I told him I would pay cash today of they could do that. This was about 4:30 and shortly thereafter Dad came back with his car. Mother had gone on home as her knee was hurting her quite a bit. We returned to the Mitsubishi dealer and in a matter of about 20 minutes the deal was consumated and I had me a mini-van! Now GOD would already be a part of this and all parts of my life but what makes this all the more of a miracle is about four weeks ago I was praying to GOD to help me get my things from South Dakota. I have been plodding along, paying my storage rent each month ahead of time being patient until I could afford to go back and get my things. I either needed $2000 or the use of a vehicle that would pull a small U-haul trailer. This van has a V-6 engine and is rear wheel drive so it will do the job nicely. It is green, in very good condition. It is 3 years newer and has 10,000 fewer miles on it than the Buick. Who knows? It might fall apart tomorrow but the dealer ran a carfax report on it. There were no reports of accidents (the rear bumper is cracked where someone had backed into a pole, but that is minor) nor did the report show any other complaints on this vehicle. It reported that the vehicle had been previously owned by 2 people and it also listed each state inspection and the mileage at the time of the inspections. This vehicle has had an average of 9700 miles a year put on it with the highest year have 13,000 miles driven. This is far lower than the accepted average of 15,000 miles a year. The only potential problem at this moment was the air bag light was flashing but on the way home that even quit, although this may be an intermittant problem and I will have it checked if it comes back on. Everything works, it came with a 10 disc cd changer, the dash, seats and doors look like new and it seats 5 adults comfortably (it is listed as a 7 passenger, but 2 or 3 of them better be kids! LOL). Life is so good right now, and I know that with GOD behind me I can handle anything that comes my way. If Jesus could die on the cross for my sins, surely the people and issues that confront me are not too big to be dealt with. Tomorrow I will post that final photo of the Buick alongside one of the van, for a comparison of how I am moving up in the world. Basically they gave it to me as it ws put in my name but I consider it a family vehicle open to their use anytime they need it. Both rear bench seats are removable so it can be opened up for cargo when needed. It also has a roof rack so eventually I will be able to put bikes or one of those canvas cargo bags on top for trips. I believe I got a vehicle that with maintenance and TLC will last me 2-5 years.