Minivan Love

After Brad finished graduate school, we sat down to figure out what kind of income we could accept. We only had two kids at the time, but we figured it wouldn't be too many years before we had another child and would need a bigger car. So, we put a car payment as something we would need to have room for in our budget.

But, of course things don't always turn out like you plan for. That great job we dreamed about didn't come no matter how hard we worked and sacrificed. Instead, came an incredibly tough time where we could not get full-time career work for over a year. This was probably one of the toughest time periods in my life and yet it was one of the most beautiful periods as well. My trust in my Heavenly Father grew tremendously and I learned that security comes ONLY from Him, that He will take care of me spiritually and temporally as I do my best to keep His commandments.

When Brad finally landed a job, we were filled with gratitude. It was wonderful to have experienced such a financially cleansing time- we knew how to live frugally and we knew the difference between wants and needs. I had started to listen to Dave Ramsey (a financial advisor) and my mindset for a car payment had changed. I was determined to NEVER again have a car payment. But living that statement was much harder than making it. Two months after Brad started his new job, our darling Gabe was born. As much as we love our little Sentra for it's reliability, it's certainly not a roomy car, and having three car seats fit wasn't going to happen, at least not without changing out all the car seats, and even then I had my doubts.

I felt blessed that we live close enough to most things that we really didn't NEED to go anywhere as a family, we could walk to church and I could run all my errands on the weekends by myself while Brad stayed home with the children. But still, it was hard on me, especially in my sleep deprived state and my cabin fever from being trapped in my house for months in the winter cold.

One day it all came crashing down on me, and we made a new financial plan. I had thought that we couldn't buy a minivan until all our debts were paid off, but the thought was beyond discouraging when it felt like we were on the ten year plan to being debt free (except for the mortgage). After paying off a few debts, we started saving for a van. It felt so fantastic to have a light at the end of the tunnel. We decided to save for a year and then we would make a purchase. I could sacrifice until then, knowing we would have one eventually.

And then the most amazing thing happened. My in-laws offered us the use of their roomy Camry while Brad's sister served a mission. What!? Once again, we were filled with gratitude for a generous and loving family. All three carseats fit perfectly in the car! We would have a car to use while we saved money for our van. This was incredible. For the next month, I relished having a car. I loved getting out of the house and doing normal things like taking my kids to the library and the park. It was heaven.

And then came the car accident. That wonderful blessing of a Camry was totaled. (My poor in-laws!) And honestly as silly as it seems, I was an emotional wreck. Even though all of us were safe, it shattered my sense of safety and security. Once, when I was leaving a chiropractic appointment, I pulled out behind a truck. Something flew out of the bed towards the rental car window. My heart seemed like it was going to pound right out of my chest and my body braced for the worst. Thankfully, it was only a grocery bag, but I was living in fear and I hated it.

The stress level in our lives escalated with all the stresses a car accident brings. And then we had to return the rental car. After a month without a second car, I was feeling thoroughly frustrated. Even though we had saved for seven months, I didn't think we had enough money to buy a reliable used minivan.

I vented my frustration to my Mom one day. Thank goodness for Moms. She gently reminded me to trust in the Lord. It was a huge turning point for me. I was so frustrated, especially since we were trying SO hard to follow the prophet's counsel to get out of debt and stay out of debt.

I took my concern to the Lord in prayer and studied the scriptures for answers. A few days later Brad came home from work, having listened to Dave Ramsey. One of the calls he listened to was a caller who had a situaton like us, who needed a minivan for a growing family. Dave's advice was to trade in one of their sedans for a minivan, no upgrading, since they were still trying to dig themselves out of debt.

I had thought we "needed" a certain amount of money to get the car we wanted, but suddenly the Spirit touched my heart that we had enough money for a minivan and that if I was prayerful and asked the Lord to help us find a reliable minivan with the money we had in our savings, He would help us. Trust in the Lord.

So I went forth, trying diligently to trust. It was an emotional roller coaster for sure. But little by little inspiration came.

I poured over the used minivan ads on ksl.com, spent hours and hours reading reviews and finding out what the best years were. After awhile of this, I ended up feeling more confused and frustrated. Finally, I asked Brad if he could take over the hunt. I was overwhelmed and knew I would work better if I knew he was taking over the responsibilty. It was inspiration for sure, as Brad often considered minivans I passed over. The second minvan we looked at, we loved. We were so excited, we wanted to make an offer, but being cautious we decided to mull it over for a few days and test drive a few more vans. I can clearly see the Lord's hand in all this as I consider all that occured. The night we were going to call and make an offer, we got home too late from car hunting. The next night we were going to make an offer, Brad found an ad I had rejected. He immediately drove forty minutes to go check it out. The ad hadn't sounded that great, but it was much better than what was advertised! An older Toyota Sienna that had been owned by a mechanic who had taken pristine care of the car. Brad and I went the next day, so I could check it out and take it for a spin and Brad could see it in the light of day. It was beautiful and drove so smoothly. We took it to a mechanic, it checked out great and by six o clock that night we had our minivan, for a lot less than we had almost paid for the other car!!

It's easy to LOVE this minivan knowing that it's paid for. I love it even more, knowing that now we have more money to dig ourselves out of debt. What a blessing. I truly have a testimony that when we are trying to follow the counsel of the prophet, we are blessed beyond what we deserve. There may be struggles to get there, but it is so, so worth it.

Brad and I were reflecting on this huge blessing and Brad summed it up beautifully when he said "More than anything, I feel how much the Lord loves you." Oh yes, I feel it too. I don't know why my Heavenly Father loves me so much, but He does and that is just evidence to me how much He watches over and blesses all of His children.