Sequoia

We got it ladies and gentlemen. The Red Sea was parted and we were approved and left the dealership with out a Tahoe and with a 2006 Sequoia. I am posting today in gray because that is the color of the car. It is to date the nicest car I have ever had. I love it! If you would have told me that not only would I one day have this car but that I would LOVE it, I would have laughed. I have never given Sequoia's a second glance. I have always been a Chevy girl. Here is the kicker for me. It has leather heated seats, 4WD, a sunroof and a DVD player. What? Yeah I felt like a 16 year old getting a new car for my birthday. The reason it was so exciting to me, other than those are just fun features, is that deep in my heart those are things I wanted in a car. I wanted an SUV with 4WD, with the leather seats and the DVD player and the sunroof. There is only one person who knew my heart. The Lord. Our getting this car was not luck. It isn't anything other than miraculous. When we were in our car accident in November we had to get a rental to get around. I found a car for exactly the amount of money we had. Used but it would work. It didn't feel right. In fact when I went to look at it, I felt so sick to my stomach I had to turn around. I prayed hard. The Lord said to keep renting the van. So I did. It was the same answer for the next couple of months. By the end of February I was beginning to question my own sanity. $268 a week. We always somehow came up the money. Mostly by the skin of our teeth. I had Ray give me a blessing. The Lord said specifically. "Yes you are supposed to rent the van. Continue to and you will know when to return it." If you were to ask me why the Lord wanted me to rent the van I could not tell you then and I can not tell you now. But I KNOW what the Lord asked me to do, and I did it. It isn't about us understanding, it is about our commitment to him DESPITE our understanding. When we found out about this loan with Toyota I was a bit nervous because we would be buying an expensive vehicle even if it is certified pre-owned. As I prayed about that the Lord reminded me of how much we spent on that rental van each week. The thought that came was that if the Lord helped us with those payments, he would again help us with these. That reminds me once of a moment when I felt so overwhelmed with the payments of the rental van. I knelt down and said to the Lord "do you realize how much money we are wasting?" and a VERY clear, VERY strong impression came that it was NOT my money, that ultimately it was his. As I pondered on that very humbling thought I realized how true it was. The scriptures tell us that every good thing comes from Christ. And it does. My life and the blessings there in all bring me to him, closer to him. My trials in life bring me to him. It is all about coming to Christ. Every facet of our lives. What a beautiful thing!! I am grateful that the Lord saw fit to remove this trial from me sooner than I thought it would be. He is merciful. Sometimes like is this instance the trial is a short season, other times the mercy comes in the form of patience, peace or a dear friend who helps you to see the silver lining. I love my Heavenly Father. I love my Savior. I love the journeys and experiences I have had that help me to feel closer to each them and to gain a stronger testimony of the reality of our Savior and his ability to literally heal us and comfort us.