Debt

I wanted to write about what happened with the "new wheels" that I thought I was going to get yesterday. So here's the 411...

If you've been keeping up, you know that we have been on the hunt for a new vehicle. Our family van which is 16 year old with 260,000 miles on it has served us well. However, it recently developed some pretty major mechanical problems (are you surprised), and it doesn't have room for the newest addition who will be arriving very soon!! So a few weeks ago we began doing research and shopping for something new. My dream ride is the massively big passenger van sometimes referred to as a church bus. Crazy, isn't it?! But it isn't easy to find those used, and when you do they are either a) old, wore out, high mileage or b) out of our price range. So we targeted newer mini-vans that would seat 7 and SUVs that would seat 7 or 8. We discovered that only the largest SUVs would truly meet our needs. And, not all of them were easy to get in and out of. Mini-vans are definitely easier as far as that is concerned, and they of course get much better gas mileage. Problem with mini-vans is that we were only adding room for Elizabeth and then we would be maxed out again with no room for a grandparent or friend to ride with us. Also we have all of our children still in some type safety seat. They are not all legally required to be, but according to safety recommendations it's better for them to be. We did re-evaluate our standards in regards to the safety recommendations, but still had a very hard time finding mini-vans that truly met our needs.

Again, if you've been following along, you know there's been a few serious possibilities, but for one reason or another each of those didn't work. Finally, f-i-n-a-l-l-y, our search led us to a beautiful, one owner, white (my favorite color for a car), loaded with several extras, low mileage, reasonably price Suburban which was for sale a couple hours north of us. It was exactly what I was looking for and what I wanted!!! We went to bed Wednesday night planning to finalize the deal on Thursday. I was so excited Wednesday about getting it. But, guess what? I couldn't sleep. I mean I really, really couldn't sleep. Wesley was at work covering a midnight football practice, and he got home at around 3:00 AM. I was in bed, still awake, waiting for him, because I didn't have peace about what I had hours before considered the "perfect" deal for us. Guess what else. Wesley didn't have peace about it either. The problem? We were going to have to go into a decent amount of debt for it. For us, the word "debt" is a nasty, ugly word letter word.

Allow me to further explain our position on the matter of debt. I feel like this topic is a rather sensitive and controversial one. We hold a rather uncommon view of debt in comparison to the world's view of this subject. We don't believe that debt is necessarily a sin although I think it's possible in some situations for it to be. However, there's no arguing the fact that scripture clearly warns us about debt and the consequences there of. Debt is not God's best for his children. Don't we all want God's best. Wesley and I have participated in Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, Jim Sammons Financial Freedom series, and every year in the month of January our pastor teaches a stewardship series. We know that debt is not best. We first did Dave Ramsey's course on good financial stewardship in 2000. Since that time, we've not accumulated any new debt with exception to our current home and one other minor except in 2004 that we quickly paid off. We regretted even that one small infraction. We paid off all debt we had except our house and a student loan that we are still working on and vowed to not do it again if at all possible. As it became harder and harder to find the right vehicle in our budget, we began to cave in. That's were we were this past Wednesday, just so ready to get something. I really believe we were so restless Wednesday night, because we were under conviction about it. We had no peace. I believe God was warning us not to make that mistake. It was very, very hard to listen to that come Thursday morning. But, we did. Wesley called the dealership who had already prepared papers and told them the deal was off. I was so disappointed, because it meant I wasn't getting the car I really wanted. But we both knew it was the right decision, and as time has gone on we haven't doubted that.

There has been another Suburban that we've been looking at for a little over a week that is an older model with higher mileage, but much, much more within our means. We've decided that so long as we don't have any new warnings, we will purchase that one tomorrow. I initially didn't want to get this one, because of the fact it was older with higher mileage, but I've had a heart change. This one just makes sense. It really is priced right for us. We've had it checked by a mechanic, and it does need a couple maintenance things done to it but nothing really serious. Wesley feels good about it. The bottom line is that this one requires more of my faith. Since it's older with higher mileage, I haven't felt as secure. Additional, time for the real truth here, I've felt a little prideful about this one because it's not as new or nice as a lot of the others we've seen. I can't rely and put my hope in things like the age and mileage of a vehicle. I have to trust and submit to Wesley, and have to trust the Lord. It's all His anyway. He owns it all. He can keep a clunker of a car running (not that this one is a clunker) or He can allow a new car off the lot to blow up. I'm trusting Him with the details as far as the mechanics of this vehicle is concerned. I've gotten over what I want and shifted my thinking to the practical need. I'm seeking to know and do His will. We don't sense any cautions in regards to this one as of now.

God blesses obedience. I feel as though, we've sought Him and we were obedient in not getting the more expensive one. I know that He will honor our obedience over that decision. A dear friend reminded me that sometimes the blessing comes in just knowing you were obedient. Sometimes it's peace over a decision. Sometimes it's not something we see on this side of Heaven. Sometimes it's more. Regardless the focus should be on glorifying Him. I'm sharing all these details, because I hope that in doing so He is glorified.

We are still going to have to be in some debt for this one but not much and not long term. It's not what we want, it's not ideal, and I still believe it's not His best. But we are continuing to seek Him, and He's provided a way that we can quickly pay it off. If this too is the wrong decision, we are praying that He intervenes once again to show us. I'm trusting Him to direct our steps, and to make His will known. We feel at peace with this.

So now you know the rest of that story! Of course tomorrow I will let everyone know how it all turns out!

As for today, it was a great, great day!! Peace. I felt at peace. We shared the day with great friends on a practically all day long field trip (maybe a post about that at another time). And, the job situation for Wesley seems promising as of today. Thanks for following our lives. Thanks for praying with us. Please feel free anytime, to email me or leave me your prayer concerns as well!