When God Tells You “Not Yet”

Waiting is hard. Especially in our society today. Recently God answered one of my prayers that I have been praying for several months now. I just have to share how God is a God who answers prayer. It’s amazing to see how everything works out and now know how God’s hand was in the whole situation.

A Need

So what had I been praying for? A mini van for my family. Getting a mini van was a big deal for us because we are financially tight, and I have been driving my 2010 Nissan Versa hatchback with two rear facing car seats in the back. 

My husband and I started to look for a mini van when I was pregnant with my second. Ideally we wanted to get the mini van before our second born was born, but we were also totally fine with getting the van a month after the baby was born since we weren’t planning on traveling anywhere anyways.

Our baby was born in May and we got more serious about the van since we had an upcoming trip to the beach in September. Our goal was to get a mini van before the beach trip. We checked online like Craigslist, Market Place, Car guru, and visited local car dealers too.

Since packing for the beach requires a lot of room I couldn’t imagine driving to the beach in our little Versa. Not only did the car seats both barely fit the right way in my car; there was no way we could fit both a stroller and a pack n play in the car.

People from our church recommended a used car dealer who carries Honda Oddessys and Toyota Siennas. The reviews online were pretty good and we had good experiences with them before when we needed some minor car repairs.

Third Time Is A Charm?

There was a 2012 Honda Odyssey we came across, and it looked great and we decided we were going to go get it if the test driving went well. When we arrived at the dealer they informed us that someone had already put a down payment on the van that morning. I was bummed because it looked great on the outside and there wasn’t a lot of mileage on there either which meant it would probably last us awhile. 

I was disappointed but my husband just reminded me that it wasn’t meant to be and it wasn’t the van God wanted us to have. 

God is sovereign and cares about the details of our lives.

The second van we were interested in was another Honda Odyssey. It still looked nice and the mileage wasn’t as good but it was still in our price range. We decided to inquire about it and a couple that arrived just before we did decided to purchase the van. 

After getting no’s for two of the vans we were getting a little discouraged. When we asked if there were others, the worker said he had one more van. A 2001 Toyota Sienna. When we walked over to where the van was my immediate thought was No Way. After expecting to get a modern looking Honda Odyssey, the 01 Sienna looked SO Ugly. I told my husband there was no way I was going to drive this ugly van.

When we looked inside the interior was spotless and it looked almost new. It was amazing how such an old car could be so well kept! I thought maybe this is the van God wanted us to get since I had been praying for a van that would be a good fit for our family as far as how we would be using it. 

The test drive went well and we went home to talk more about it. The reviews for a 2001 Toyota Sienna were pretty good and everything sounded great except for the looks of the car, but I knew if God wanted us to have that specific van then I would learn to love it and learn to love how it looks (LOL). 

The van was well below our budget and we would come out of the situation making money if we sold our Versa. We decided it was the right van for us, but my husband wanted to go get it checked out by our mechanic before we made the purchase just in case. Besides, third time is a charm right?

Not In Our Timing

My husband used his lunch break to pick up the van and the van wouldn’t start. The dealer said the battery died probably because the last test driver probably just left the lights on. They gave a jump and he took it to our mechanic. 

When my husband got to the mechanic the van battery died again. Our mechanic said he wouldn’t even consider buying the van until the dealer replaced it with a new battery and he could check it properly.

Imagine my disappointment when we thought we were getting a new (well new to us haha) mini van that day and could drive up to the beach with so much room!

God was telling us “Not Yet”

It was frustrating to not be able to pack everything you want, but we learned to prioritize what to pack and how to be minimalists with traveling. We packed up our little hatch back car as tightly as we could. 

God was still faithful in small details through this because at the beach house there was an extra pack n play, toys in a bin for toddlers, and essential stuff that we weren’t able to pack due to the size of our car.

The beach trip was tight and a little uncomfortable due to the lack of space in the car. We managed to stay thankful for what we had. We had a running and functional car that got us from point A to point B. 

Weekends kept passing by and the trip up for thanksgiving was right around the corner. I had given up hope that we are getting a mini van. I just came to terms that we were going to drive my little hatch back forever. Besides, once the youngest switched in to her non-infant car seat we would all fit perfectly. We just wouldn’t have extra wiggle room. 

God Answers

Before we go on a long road trip we always take my car to get it checked. The mechanic said that there was a gas leak and that it could be really dangerous. They also said that the transmission was going bad too.

After getting the bad news about my car. My husband went and test drove 2 Honda Odysseys that were in our price range that they had available.

We narrowed it down to 1 and even had our mechanic look at it and got good news. We put down the down payment and decided to purchase it on Monday (which was the day before we left for our trip).

On Monday, my husband and I both had peace about buying this mini van. Sure, it was a 2007 and a little scratched on the sides but it was perfect for us.

The scratches on the van did not bother me.  Besides the Odyssey it feels like a huge step up because of the amount of space in the van! Now both car seats fit and there is plenty of space in the back of the van to fit our stuff for travel. 

The peace we felt and the joy that came from knowing God had answered our prayers was amazing. 

If you are waiting on God to provide you with something, know that God is in control and He wants what is best for you. Being patient is hard, but God’s timing is always perfect.