1. On Thursday (May 10th), I bought a used 2006 Toyota Avalon for myself despite already having a 2008 Honda Civic EX-L coupe that I’d bought last fall. The Honda coupe had been good to me the whole time, and was a good next option when my Cadillac started giving up the ghost. I later grew tired of having a coupe vs sedan though, and the engine was pretty underpowered for what I was used to (I lost to a VW Beetle leaving a red light). I came across this Avalon via our family mechanic, and though it was high mileage, I valued his opinion and figured it’d be reliable. Plus, it’d been called the Buick of Toyotas, and it did remind me quite a bit of my Cadillac. So I got a loan online and picked it up Thursday. Might seem foolish at the time, but God knew.
2. On Friday, my mom took my Honda coupe into the local Honda dealership because of my SRS airbag/seat belt light being on. They originally were going to charge me at least $80 for diagnosis, but discovered that the issue was a seat buckle which was covered under some type of warranty for another 3 months. I have NO idea what warranty that was, but I didn’t pay a dime for parts or labor on something that was at least $300 otherwise. Praise the Lord! We figured that was the end of that issue, but God knew there was something else ahead…
3. On Saturday, my mom and I were driving around town in my Honda while my Avalon was at Walmart getting a new battery. I went to use my passenger seat belt, and the whole assembly came up in my hands when I pulled on the belt. Turns out, the seat buckle (we think it was the one replaced on Friday) wasn’t bolted into the actual seat. So, I’d essentially been riding around with an untethered seat belt. We went back to the Honda dealer right away, and they bolted that seat buckle back in for no charge (and they had free snacks!). God knew!
4. Also on Saturday morning, my mom and I went to the license bureau to get my Avalon registered and taxed (if it pleases the crown?). We got that all done with a little hiccup; I couldn’t swap plates from my Cadillac to the Avalon, because the Cadillac hadn’t ever actually been titled in Missouri. Oops. It all worked out, though, and the Avalon was ready to roll. God knew! Side note: The Columbia license bureau on Grindstone Parkway is amazing, and they’re open every Saturday till 12:30 PM!
5. On Sunday (Mother’s Day), I let my parents drive my Honda coupe back & forth to church. Mom’s car hasn’t had working air for a week or so, and she doesn’t do well without cool air, so I wanted to help in whatever way I could. Glad that I had my Avalon to drive around, and that I was able to let them borrow the Honda. God knew!
6. On Sunday night at their church, Mom sang the hymn “My Father Planned It All” as a special (click here to listen, or click play on the below embedded player). Mom picked that because of all she’d gone through with losing her voice and job, and job searching in the past 9 months or so. She didn’t know that song would take on another meaning only a little while later, but God knew… (Side note: Congrats to Mom on getting assistant manager at the Columbia Build a Bear mall store!)
7. Around 7:30 PM on the way home from church in my Honda, a deer ran in front of Mom & Dad on Route B (about 3 miles from our house). Mom didn’t have time to react, and they hit it broadside with the front of my Honda while going around 60 MPH. Mom & Dad pulled onto the shoulder, and were shaken up but fine other than some minor whiplash for Mom at least. The deer (likely a mom, unfortunately) ended up dead in the weeds next to the road. The front of my car was a disaster, but somehow the airbags didn’t go off; that probably would’ve made things worse (God knew!). Praise the Lord for that passenger seat belt being fixed over the weekend, because Dad probably would’ve hit or gone through the windshield otherwise…God knew! The car made a grinding noise, but since they were close to home, Mom figured they’d try to limp home. My bumper fell off to the side, and we later went back to pick that up and take it home. When they pulled in our driveway, it was smoking and hissing (probably the radiator). I’m so glad they were able to get home safe with my car at least getting them there! Sounds like it could’ve been so much worse! God knew.
8. I went to the door to greet them as usual, and that’s when they said “Nathan, we’ve got some bad news…” I was actually quite calm about the whole thing. I can’t say I felt this inexplicable Holy Spirit peace about it, but that could’ve indeed been what it was! I’ve never been in a bad wreck before, but with all the car issues I’ve had in the past, I’ve kinda just taken things in stride at this point. God’s worked it all out before, and I know He will again. We had a friend from their church come take a look at the car, and he prayed with us all before leaving which was cool too.
9. Mom & I talked to our insurance companies (since it was my car but her as the driver). I heard back from my insurance (Geico) over the next couple days, and today (Tuesday the 15th) an insurance adjuster came to inspect everything. He said my car would be about $4700 to fix, but the cash value of the car was around $5700 (pretty close to what I’d seen from KBB for private selling). After taking out my deductible, they are going to be able to pay off the remainder of my LightStream loan and I’ll also have some extra cash left over! I was hoping to sell the Honda as soon as I paid it off this fall, and use that money to hopefully pay off all or most of the LightStream loan for my Avalon. God knew better though, and His way is best! I’m waiting to hear back from a towing company as well as Geico’s payment department about taking care of my loan, etc, but it’s looking like I’m not going to be losing much ground compared to what I was hoping for originally. Amazing.
Overall, I believe that God had a plan through all of these different events. I can see where everything fell into place despite not looking like that on an individual basis (like me getting another car when I had a working one already, for instance). It’s truly been amazing to see how God worked out the details of each situation, and how His plan is better than anything I could’ve planned on my own. We don’t know why God has things happen the way they do sometimes, but we have to trust that He has our best in mind and that He cares about us as our heavenly Father. “I sing thru the shade and the sunshine, I’ll trust Him whatever befall; I sing for I cannot be silent – My Father planned it all.”
