Finding God in the Small Things...

You know when you're praying for something, and it doesn't seem like it's going to work out? But then, through a series of small miracles, everything comes together and you can't believe it?

Buying a minivan has been on my mind for a while. With another baby coming, and three years left without an income, and the prospect of leaving New York with three children (maybe four on the way), I've been praying about how we could do it. Ideally, we wanted to sell Zach's car, and be able to pay cash for a van. Our financial situation wouldn't change, but we would have something that should last us for a while. 

A few weeks ago I came across a van at a dealership in Virginia. It looked like it was in good condition, and the price was reasonable, and I was left with hope that if we could sell Zach's car, we shouldn't have too much trouble finding a good van.

A couple of weeks after I saw the ad online, I told my Mom about it. She told me to ask Dad to run over and check it out, since it was close to his office. I think he ran over there on a Thursday. On Saturday morning I loaded Tony up in Zach's car and headed south to hopefully make an even trade for the van.

One thing I was concerned about was the key for Zach's car. It was broken (it was the electronic key with the buttons on the top of the key shaft). Buying a brand new key would cost $80. Yikes. However, I couldn't take it to the dealership with a key that wouldn't hold together (and if we ended up keeping the car, Zach had to have a new key). I called a Honda dealership off of 81, to see how long it would take to get a new key. 15-20 minutes. So I stopped. It ended up being close to an hour, because the parts department was ridiculously busy. I couldn't complain in the end, though, because I paid $12 for a new key shaft and plastic casing! The electronic chip was still functioning and that's what makes the keys so expensive. I felt God smiling on me right then, because I knew we couldn't afford to put out a lot of money to get the van. 

Initially the dealer wasn't going to do an even trade. Zach's car had some scratches, and dents from his bike rack that were pretty bad. I couldn't really blame him, except that the van is 5 years older than Zach's car, and has a little more mileage. My Dad told him that I just didn't have the money to make up the difference that he wanted, and thanked him for his time. Before we left, he came back asking for a little more than the processing fee (which I was prepared to pay), and with generosity from some special people, I am now driving a minivan.

The generosity was overwhelming. I'm still crying about it. The world is such a sad, miserable place, and it's easy to forget that there are kind people out there. People who will help you, out of the goodness of their hearts. I cry almost every time I go to the Farmer's Market and the owner of the farm we buy our meat from gives me 10lbs of meat and 5 dozen eggs for the price of the eggs.

I try to hold all of the kindnesses done to us in my heart, so that when I have an opportunity to pass it on to someone else, I do. Life is too short not to give, and I never want to forget that.

Time to stop writing things that are making me cry.

I love the van. It is really comfortable, and I'm not dreading packing what will soon be four of us (and the dog) into my car to go on long rides. I like knowing that if I find a great deal on a dresser at Salvation Army, I can actually bring it home. Sometimes I felt silly for wanting a minivan with only two children, but I got over it. Aside from not having the financial flexibility to wait until we absolutely needed one, I'm just happy to have space for people or things. One of Zach's friends took us to dinner a couple of weeks ago, and he and his girlfriend were smooshed in the back with Tony's huge carseat. Forget anyone going with you when you have two carseats in the back of a 2006 Corolla (which feel rather more compact than the newer ones).

Now I thank God for His never-failing goodness. And St. Joseph. I was especially thankful to him, since all of this happened the weekend before his feast day.

Have a blessed Holy Week!
 Love,
Jess