meet lulu- our newest addition.

I never EVER wanted to own a minivan. I had some sort of disgust toward them for some reason. Honestly, I thought they were ugly and ever so uncool. God has a funny way of humbling me.

This fall  when we were driving back from IL and our awesome 1996 pink Ford Taurus broke down on the side of the road, full of baby shower gifts and me 30 weeks pregnant, we decided it probably wasn't going to be the most reliable vehicle to be driving around with a new baby. We did, however, make the necessary repairs and kept driving it.

Over time we kept hearing other sounds and worried that it was going to give out completely some day. Also, with my recovery it was really painful trying to get Gracie in and out of the car since it sat so low. SO we decided to start looking for a new vehicle. And when I say vehicle, I mean a SUV. A minivan was not an option. Oh sure, we talked about it and prayed about it but we felt okay not going that route "for now" (Seth, on the other hand, has ALWAYS wanted a minivan and thinks they are the perfect vehicle...other than a truck of course). Yes, they would be more economical and probably cheaper than an SUV but I couldn't get past how much I disliked minivans and how badly I'd always wanted to drive an SUV- I've always wanted one, and I was excited because it seemed like it was finally going to happen!

Now, we aren't talking any high-end SUV here...not even something relatively new. We were going to do this the Dave Ramsey style.  In fact when we came up with what we wanted, the idea was pretty much impossible in a realistic sense. What we wanted + the funds available= a very unrealistic possibility. However we believed that God could do it. That He could provide a reliable vehicle for our small chunk of change. Seth searched ads all over the country and locally and nothing was really fanning out.

One Monday he came home for lunch with a rather uncertain yet amazed look on his face. He approached me like this, "So, I know that you really don't want a minivan...BUT what would you say about a free minivan"?! I think my heart stopped in disbelief, shock and dread all at once. I knew immediately in my heart that I couldn't avoid it any longer- we were about to be proud owners of a minivan. Seth looked elated. I probably cried.

I asked him what in the world he meant...a FREE minivan? How do you just get a FREE minivan?! He began to tell me what happened that morning. He was at Monday morning prayer and asked if they would pray that we would find an SUV for an amazingly cheap price. After the meeting a woman, who does not normally attend these meetings/doesn't even live in Little Rock, stopped Seth in the hall and asked if he would be interested in a minivan instead of the SUV we were pursuing. She proceeded to tell him that she has these friends who just bought a new vehicle and would "probably just give us the van". Give a van to perfect strangers?! Who does that?! hence the amazed look on his face as he is relaying the story to me. I was dumbfounded.

We decided to get more details and pray about it for a day....but really the answer was pretty obvious- how do you say no to a free vehicle when a. you need one b. you really don't have the money to buy what you want anyways and c. you've been praying for God to do exceedingly beyond what you can ask or imagine- I think He hit that one on the head.

We talked to a few people, prayed about it and came to the conclusion that this was a no brain-er. To be blatantly honest- I was so thankful for this incredible gift but I couldn't get past how sad I was that I was officially stuck with a minivan in my mid twenties. Seth, on the other hand was riding high on cloud 9- you would have thought someone just gave him a new 2013 Dodge Ram truck or something.

He got in contact with this incredibly generous couple and they even drove halfway to meet him to give us, these perfect strangers and young naive twenty somethings, their van.

And just like that, we owned a minivan.

I was a minivan mom just. like. that. I mean we prayed for a miracle, right? It just didn't come in the form we expected...at all.

One thing I've learned in my life is that God gives you what He knows you need, not always what you want. This van is a perfect testimony to that. I didn't think I would like ANYTHING about it. But now that I've been driving it for a couple months, I love (yes love) so many things about it. I love the doors that slide open with the press of a button. I love how easy it is to lift Gracie in and out. I love all the extra room for traveling, groceries, etc. I love the dual heat in the front so we can each control our own temperature. Seth loves that you can take out the back seat and treat it like a truck to haul things in if needed :).

I'm not going to lie- I thought I was going to be miserable in this thing. But the truth is- I stinkin love it. Yes, it's true. SO that in itself is testimony to how God can change a stone hard heart :). He knew exactly what we needed for reasons that are beyond what we even know yet. We often laugh at the whole situation and how I'm completely sold out on these beautiful things called minivans now. (Though for the record, someday I will get my SUV and it will be awesome).

And as a side note- we sold our Taurus- old pinky- for more than we thought we could get for it! God is the Provider. And not just for these material things....but He does care about these details in our lives and I love seeing Him show up and work out these things like only He can.

Here's a couple pictures of Lulu (that's what the previous owners named her and we decided to carry on her legacy):

 

and there you have it. we are now rocking the minivan.



song of the day: Come Away by United Pursuit & Brock Human