Miraculous Grace and Provision

by Texas Stready

Busy, Busy…

Gave away almost 200 books this month. The rest is up to God.

My trip to Tennessee was a huge success. Made wonderful contacts and will be returning in October for four speaking engagements—one of which includes speaking in every pod in the Columbia County Jail. Perfect.

But…this month I want to tell you a story of God’s grace and provision.

In The Beginning

When I got out of jail, in 2014, I had no Drivers License. Because of an accumulation of unpaid fines and court costs, I hadn’t had a Drivers License for eight years. I begin to hold on to every unused penny until I had enough to get my license. When I arrived at the DMV to pay, the cost was $400 less than I’d been told. Grace!

I bought my first car from my son for $1400. I gave him the $400 I’d saved and paid him $100 a month for 10 months. I definitely appreciated my car, but by the time I was debt free it was shaking at every stop.

Having made a deal with God not to settle, I began to think—is this God’s best for me? No! So I put it on the corner on Thurs and on Sat it sold it $1200.

Never Settle

 

Being a good saver I was now prepared to spend $1600 on my car.

Facebook post: “Does anyone have a good car at a good price? I’m in the market.”

That Sunday at church a lady came up to me and said, “I believe in what you’re doing and want to be a part of your mission,” and handed me the keys to a red Cadillac CTS.

What? Provision, that’s what.

I joyfully drove this beautiful car for 16 months and when it began to have problems I put it on the corner too. At that time I was ministering to a mother/sister who had a family member caught in an unhealthy lifestyle. The mother, getting up in years, was turning in her car keys and offered to sell me her 2011, certified preowned, Toyota Corolla, with 94,000 miles, for only $3000. And believe it or not, later that very same day the Cadillac sold for $3500.

What? Grace and Provision at the same time.

Just Like That

My Corolla was an awesome car. Very reliable, with not even a simple problem for 8 entire months. Then BOOM—somebody hit me. After spitting out a few panicked cuss words my first thought was, “Oh no, my perfect car.”

Although we were probably only going 5 miles an hour, the positioning of the hit bent the frame making the cost of fixing it more than the value of the car. It was totaled.

When I texted my sister-in-law that evening to tell her what happened I remember ending the text by saying, “Hey, it’s all good. I must be ready for an upgrade. Yay!”

Never Without

While waiting to hear from the insurance company I began to look on Facebook Marketplace. I’m a shopper who makes rules for herself. Rules I stick to. I had two rules for this hunt.

1. Newer
2. Less miles

The very first car that caught my attention was a 2012 burgundy Kia Sedona with 6,600 miles. Ok. But they want $10,000 for it. Yikes.

At that exact moment, a faithful supporter who I met on a trip to California, called me. When he asked what I was doing I told him about the Kia—because that’s what I was doing—looking at the Sedona.

“What happened to the Toyota?” he asked. 

After explaining the situation he said, “I want you to have that Sedona so whatever insurance won’t pay, I will.” What? Talk about more than you can ask.

When I went to pick up the car the seller said, “I forgot to tell you the best part. Kia had a safety recall and replaced the engine. This engine only has 644 miles, and he hands me the paperwork. What? Talk about more than you can imagine.

After having several mechanic friends and even the Kia dealership look at the car, it’s all true. And so…I am now the proud owner of a burgundy Kia Sedona that has an engine with a lifetime warranty. Simply miraculous.

Trust me when I tell you, there’s nothing God’s grace and provision can’t and won’t make possible. I’m living the dream—fur sure.