I took a job at a Christian school outside of St. Louis called Westminster Christian Academy (more on that later). The wife and I lived about 25 minutes from the school in South City. One of my future coworkers lived two doors down. I was ripe for a carpool!
I would have been driving a 2001 Ford Ranger that I had traded for with my dad for my older 1999 Ford Ranger. My old truck was getting a little shaky at the trade. Now, my newer truck was unlikely to handle the 25 minutes to and from work everyday.
So, I talked with the coworker two doors down. He had a more reliable vehicle than I did. I promised him travel funds; he said he’d take me to work everyday. On the rare occasion I would need a car, we had one.
So, we drove to work together everyday. Some days he was talkative; others we listened to far too much NPR for my liking.
I’m not sure of the whole story, but my ride to work hit some snags that semester. So, I found out during the last week before Christmas break: he was leaving the school. I had sold my beat up truck, we were down to one car, and my ride to work quit.
It would have been a tougher lot for the wife and Edie at the time. They’d have to stick near the house during the day if they wanted to do anything.
Fortunately, God does indeed provide.
My parents had been living in a condo complex for a couple years at this point. They aren’t the youngest there, but it’s close. One of their neighbors at the complex had recently had a stroke and wouldn’t be able to drive anymore. I think they thought he’d be able to, but time doesn’t heal every wound, I’m afraid.
The van (yes, a minivan!) in question had been parked by him during his stroke, so one of the sliding doors was smashed up against a pole. And it had been there, unmoved, for about a year.
So, he had spread the word that he no longer needed the van, and my parents contacted me. I went to meet this wonderful gentleman one day over Christmas break. He offered me the van for whatever it would take to fix it up. This means it was a free van, you see.
Well, 700 bucks later, we have a 2001 Toyota Sienna to our name. I could drive our other car to work everyday, and the wife could now easily load in Edie (and the twins one day).
I do not deserve the grace of God. I did not deserve a free minivan. I don’t even deserve to be spending this Saturday morning writing about all of it. He is gracious. He gives freely, because it’s all His. Even if we just have Christ, that is enough. But He heaps on more than this on the regular. Do be thankful for it.
Mr. Klunick Tutoring 