This is Pearl

**Disclaimer**  This is a long post.  I wanted to remember the details the best I could, so there are many...but no one has ever accused me of being brief and to the point :)  This is a story of God's provision, so skip on down to the paragraph that starts after the next pictures if you want the "shorter" version.

This is Pearl.

Pearl~

Yes, she's a car...our 2003 Honda Accord.  We didn't really name her...but the owner we bought her from took really good care of her and called her Pearl.

Why am I blogging about our car?

Because this car is an amazing gift...a humbling gift.  And now that we've had her for a year, I thought I'd reflect on how she came to be ours.

In November, 2009 the girls and I were merrily on our way to Bella's ballet class when, WHAM, we were hit by a car that turned right in front of us...I guess I hit him, actually.  I don't even remember if I had a chance to hit the brakes, but I suspect I did b/c Bella remembers hearing a sound that must have been the anti-lock brakes engaging.  I vaguely have a memory of realizing that we were going to slam right into the car turning in front of us and then realizing that my face hurt.  The airbags deployed...I remember the car filling up with "smoke" from the airbags.  It took me a couple of seconds to realize they had deployed and what had just happened.  I quickly turned my attention to the girls.  Both were still strapped into their carseats and did not appear injured.  Bella was very calm while Sophia was freaking out.  I got her calmed down enough to make sure no one needed medical attention.  What a sigh of blessed relief when I realized they were safe with no serious injuries...thank you, Lord.  

I hit the other driver hard enough to cause him to ram the guardrail and his airbags deployed too, but he was also, thankfully, unhurt.  He was quickly out of his car and checking on us to see if we were all okay.  All of us walked away from the accident that night.  Lord, again, thank you that there were no serious injuries.

I have no idea who called the police, but they were there pretty quickly.  I called Steve to let him know what had happened.  I only had time to tell him that we had been in an accident, that we were all okay, but the car (our 2000 Honda Accord) was probably totaled...then there was a police officer at my window, so I got off the phone with Steve.  Steve didn't know any other details...not even where we were.  I got the girls out of the car and onto the median...the officer asked me to put them back in b/c it was actually safer for them to be in the car than to be on the side of the road.  I am amazed with Bella; she continued to be calm through the entire thing.  Sophia, however, was really shaken up and really wanted me to hold her the entire time.  She did eventually calm down...one of the officers stayed near them while I talked with the police.  He gave them little badges...they really liked that.

The gentleman who caused the accident was so nice and took responsibility.  He was from out of town and didn't even realize that he needed to cross two lanes of traffic to get to the on-ramp for the highway.  The lane closest to him was backed up and at a standstill and someone had left enough room for him to go ahead and turn.  My lane was pretty much empty and we were just cruising through...he never even saw us until it was too late.  

The police took my statement.  I remember trying to point as I was explaining what had happened and watching my entire arm shake...it was like I couldn't control my own body.  My voice was shaky too...I remember the officer just calmly telling me that everyone was okay and that I could relax.  For some reason I couldn't get hold of Steve anymore.  I called our friend and she came to the scene...what a Godsend she was (and is).  She brought her kids with her...what a blessing to my girls to have their friends also arrive.  The tow truck came and my friend took us home.  

My back and neck hurt...I knew I was going to be sore the next day.  I also hit my knees hard on the dash, especially my right one.  (My knee has healed, but it is not the same.  The hit it took caused a deep bone bruise and tissue damage.  Neither of the girls had any pain or soreness, just seatbelt bruises for a few days...so thankful.)  My friend and her kids stayed with us until Steve got home.  The poor guy's phone would not work once we hung up with each other.  It wasn't out of power...really, no explanation.  He didn't know where else to go, so he just came home hoping we would be there.  He said it was the longest train ride from the city he had ever been on.  His emotions when he realized we were all okay were intense.  His phone took the brunt of his frustration at not being able to connect with us...I just remember it smashing against the wall and pieces of it flying in all different directions.  In 11 years of marriage, I had never (never, ever) seen Steve react in such a way to anything...it was scary for him not being able to know where we were and how we were doing.  

That night, we all gathered on my bed and cuddled and talked about all that had happened.  We also prayed together and simply thanked Jesus for his protection in that situation.  As we were talking and reflecting and praying, Bella called our attention to her lesson from church that week.  It was about one of Paul's trials and how it looked "bad" from a human perspective, but God used it for His glory...this kid just amazes me with her understanding and insight.  Sophia's big praise was for airbags...thank you, Jesus, for airbags :)

Our 2000 Honda...a great car.

That accident caused me to do a lot of reflecting and God used it to really speak to me...but that is for another post.  What I want to share now, is about His provision.  

The Honda had been a great car for us...ran great, never needed work, very reliable.  Our 1997 Ford Explorer is a different story, though.  This is the car that Steve uses simply to commute across our little town to the train station each day.  It doesn't go anywhere far and is not used for much more than that...it is showing its age and has proven that it can't be trusted for much more.  Now it was our only car.  And in its defense, I have to say that it mostly did a good job.  There were a few mornings when it wouldn't start and other times it acted up...thankfully Steve was able to diagnose the problem and fix it himself.  Sometimes Steve got a ride with our neighbor to the train station and on nice mornings (when spring began showing itself), he walked...but usually we all got up early and piled into the truck (the girls still in their jammies) and took him to the train station and picked him up in the evening.    Coordinating our schedules got tricky and interesting at times.  It wasn't very convenient, but it became our routine.

We were a one car family for 5 months while we figured out what to do and waited for God to lead us.  Since we are a grad-school family, we have no money for a big purchase like a car, so we proceeded cautiously and carefully with replacing the Honda.  Our insurance company had been fair in the amount we received from them for settlement, but it became pretty clear that getting a like replacement was going to be hard.  

In the meantime, unbeknownst to us, our friends from church were working.  We belong to an amazing church and a wonderful Community Group (CG) in our church.  Our CG...it's hard to put into words what they mean to us...they are our life here in PA.  They are the people who have taken us in and loved us.  They are our friends and family.  They celebrate with us and pray for us...they hold us accountable and show us Jesus.  They, and our church, have made our move to PA a wonderful thing!  

And in February of 2010 they gave us money to help us replace our car.  Our church has a fund that will match the amount a CG raises to meet the need of a member.  Our group of dear and amazing friends gathered $1500 and our church matched it...we were given a check for $3000!  We were amazed...shock and awe...we could hardly believe it!  What can you say to a gift like that?  I couldn't even write thank you notes because it was simply from our CG.  This is the email I sent out to our friends...

Today I deposited a check for $3,000 dollars into our bank account.  It is the amount of the check we received from the church in response to your giving to help us purchase another car.

Usually, my emotions are pretty evident.  Usually, I love to talk and share (sometimes too much, probably).  Usually, I am excited to share how God is working.  Rarely am I at a loss for words when God is moving in such visible ways.

But today, I am in shock and awe.  Today, I don't know what to say.  Today, I am overwhelmed at the generosity of you, our friends and church.  Today, the tears flowed as I pondered this gift.  Today, each of you has been lifted up to our Lord as a blessing in our life.  Today, "Thank You" barely begins to describe how I feel.

I guess we are humbled...in a way that we didn't realized we needed to be.

Friends, we are blessed by you.  Thank you for caring for us, for loving us.  We are truly having a hard time putting words to the thanks we feel, so we leave you with a simple prayer.

Dear Father, we simply come to you with praise and thanksgiving.  What can we say?  You are our provider and protector.  Thank you, Lord, for this provision and blessing.  Lord, we ask for your continued care and provision for the beautiful friends who you have moved to help us.  Lord, thank you for bringing us to PA, for bringing us to Media, for bringing us to Covenant Fellowship Church, for bringing us to this community group--we are in awe of you and how you work.  Thank you, Lord, for this need and the amazing way you met it--and thank you for the lessons you are teaching in the process.

We love you, Lord.   Amen. 

Pearl...so thankful~

A year ago, 5 months after the accident, we bought a "new" car...our 2003 Honda Accord.  We were able to pay cash and cover all the expenses of transferring the title, inspections, tags, etc because of the kindness and generosity of God and our friends. 


That gift did way more than help us replace our car.  It wasn't just money...it wasn't simply provision...it was extravagant...it was love.  


It was also humbling...very, very humbling.  To accept a gift like that meant that we realized we couldn't provide by ourselves.  To accept a gift like that meant that we were on the receiving end of a lot of care.  To accept a gift like that showed us (me, at least) how much pride we really have...because it was overwhelming...and also kinda hard.  To accept a gift like that meant that we saw God working in practical ways through real people who we have grown to love.  To accept a gift like that meant that God was providing for our physical needs...which impacted us tremendously in spiritual ways.  To accept a gift like that was a relief as we realized that we could now afford another family car.  To accept a gift like that gave us an even greater desire to go beyond being good stewards of our money and look forward to when we can give in return.  To accept a gift like that challenged us to consider where God might be calling us to "give big" when Steve's done with school.  God had already been working on us through our grad-school-finances-are-beyond-tight experience to teach us about how we use and view money and He had already been giving us a vision for when Steve's done with school...but this gift solidified so much in what we are beginning to see as a way that God is calling our family.  


We can hardly wait to be on the other end...the giving end.  But so much of our joy and excitement about looking forward to being there is simply because God knew it would be best for us to desperately be on the other end...the needing and receiving end.  Have the financial lessons been fun?  Not really.  Have they been stressful at times?  Definitely.  Have they changed us forever?  Yes!  Living a frugal life has been very, very good for us...and we are thankful.  


Lord, thank you for the path you have us on.  Thank you for knowing and providing exactly what we need to grow in You.  Thank you for your provision and the vision you are growing in our family.  Lord, thank you that we can look at our lives and clearly see your hand guiding and working.  And Lord, thank you for the incredible men and women and families you have brought into our lives...we are overwhelmed by them...we are overwhelmed by your care through them.  Thank you just doesn't seem like enough...


"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  To our God and Father be glory, forever and ever.  Amen."    Philippians 4: 19-20

Thanks for reading...may you know God's blessing and provision~
Rach