DRAFT - RUSH POST - FORGIVE THE TYPO'S
This story is a true story and has absolutely nothing to do
with the Celtic legend about an island named Avalon, represented by an earthy
paradise in the western seas, to which King Arthur and other heroes were carried
at death. No—nothing in common with that
at all; accept the miraculous!
This story begins in 1998.
In 1998, at the age of 38, I had the opportunity, for the
first time in my adult life, to purchase a “good car”. You know what I mean, right? A car that you would not need to make sure
you put in neutral at the stop light and keep your foot on the accelerator so
that it would not die, kind of “good car”.
I car with a moon roof, leather power seats that had seat heaters in
them (WHAT?); and a 12 pack CD player in the trunk. When I had finally found myself in a position
to buy such a car, I wasn’t even sure how to go about finding one.
The first thing I did was to research all the consumer
reports and then research blue book values, etc. I learned enough to know that I did not want
to buy a new car, because as soon as you drive them off the lot they drop in
value. I learned that what I wanted was
a “certified lease return” so that all the maintenance was done regularly, etc.
and the vehicle was covered like a new vehicle would be covered by the dealer. So, I kept on learning and kept on praying!
One week later, armed with what I wanted and what I would be
willing to pay, there she was! A 1995
Toyota Avalon, fully loaded, dealer certified, lease return. I had also learned to by-pass the salesperson
and go straight to the finance person with my offer. I presented it. He looked at me like I was crazy and quickly
declined the offer. I told him to call
me if he changed his mind and left my contact information along with the
written offer. Within 24 hours he called
me and said he would accept the offer.
I drove down the next day and closed the deal! I will never forget how I felt getting into
that Avalon that day. I was actually
scared to death to even drive it off the lot.
I had never in my life owned a car so new and so beautiful. I sat in the driver’s seat just thanking the
Lord for this wonderful car! As I turned
the ignition on the radio was on and started playing a Contemporary Christian
song that I was familiar with. Of
course, I smiled instantly! I decided to
check each pre-programmed station, and discovered, as I sat there in the Toyota
dealership parking lot, that every single pre-programmed station was a
Christian radio station!
That was my first Avalon and I drove that Avalon until 2016
with over 300,000 miles on the original engine until we decided to move to
North Carolina from California. We
decided to gift it to an older lady that lived in the Mobile Home Park where we
lived. She was on limited income and
needed a car to get her to the store and back.
I loved that car and it was hard for me to say goodbye.
JUMP TO 2016
Having decided to retire and move out of California to
Burlington North Carolina we also realized we would need another reliable,
comfortable car once we got settled in.
I knew I wanted another Avalon. I
tend to be “Car Loyal”. So, to make a
long story short, once everything was done regarding the move, accept helping
mom sell her house in California and with Michael in Burlington and me with my
mom, we decided that Michael could buy the car so that by the time mom and I
arrived it would be there.
Any one who knows me, knows that I love research; so, I
could not, not help with the car hunt even though I was 3,000 miles away. In matters of minutes of researching online,
I found the car! This was one of those
times when I had no real logical reason for thinking it was the car—just a
“feeling” –which anyone who knows me; knows I have issues with going with
“feelings”. But, having said that. There she was!
A 2003 Toyota Avalon at a used car lot in Greensboro. I emailed Michael the link and the very next
day, he had bought the vehicle. In the
glove compartment was the invoice for the original purchase. It had only one owner and I was able to find
the original owner on Facebook. When I
accessed her facebook page it was filled with quotes from C.H. Spurgeon! (For those who don’t know who he is. He is one of our favorite Christian
preachers/pastors from the 1800’s.) Once
again, it was clear to us that the Lord had pointed us to this particular
vehicle.
JUMP TO NOW!
It is now 2023 and we still drive and love our 2003 Toyota
Avalon. It is 20 years old and still
drives like a new car. Our mechanic
tells us that it will probably last as long as we do if we keep up the with
normal maintenance.
Here is what prompted this entire story!
Michael and I realized that our 20-year-old car will one day
die. In fact, it did leave us stranded
in our church parking lot a few months ago because of a relatively minor clogged
intake sensor “thingy” that we were able to have replaced. But, that little incident made us realize
that we did need another reliable car that mom can get in and out of in the
event that the 2003 Avalon is in the shop, etc.
Michael 1995 Honda Accord is simply not going to work as a back up
vehicle for our 84-year-old mom. Heck, I
can barely get in and out of it, anymore!
This is where the “Miraculous” happened. Building up to the miraculous, Michael and I
had decided that perhaps we should just “bite the bullet” and get another
“Toyota Certified Lease Return Vehicle” (like my first Avalon). Of course, this would mean going back into
debt; but, we thought it might be a wise decision to have a reliable car that
would last at least as long as we have left on earth, rather than worrying
about getting stranded with my elderly mom again. So, what did we do? We researched and researched; we googled and
googled; we carfaxed and carvana’d!
On Friday, of this past week, we thought we had found the
car! It was a 2020 Toyota Avalon - Certified
Lease Return with new car warrantees and all the bells and whistles. We knew what we would pay. We knew what we would put down and
transferred that exact amount into our checking account; we knew what our
monthly payments would be; we knew what the interest rates should be and we
were “all in”. After driving over an
hour to dealer; and then spending 3 hours in the dealership, the Lord made it
clear to me (I know – what does that mean????) that we should not buy this
car. That is a long story in and of
itself; but basically, even though we finally got them down do what we
originally had determined and agreed upon; I just felt wrong about it and
although I left it entirely up to Michael to decide, he said, (after three
hours) “Unless both my wife and I are 100% in, we need to give it more
thought”.
The most interesting part of the story is that, I attempted
to explain to the “finance guy” that what we really wanted was an older Toyota
Avalon (like the one we already have) that we can simply have as a back-up to
the one we already own, just in case one needs to be in the shop for a
while. That way we would know mom could
get in and out of it comfortable, etc.
Is response was, “Goodluck – I gues if you have all the time in the
world and a lot of luck that would make sense.
But, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack!”
As we left that dealership and started our long hour drive
home, I said to Michael, “Thank you so much for not buying that car from those
people. I know we are feeling somewhat
disappointed because our plans did not work out as we had thought that they
would; but, I just know that the Lord will find us that “needle in the
haystack” as He always does. Michael
agreed and we had a lovely drive home.
Now, let me set this up so that you all know how amazing the
rest of the story is.
Michael and I, and my mom, are members of a Church in town
and we have attended worship every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday
evenings for the past 6 and a half years.
One Sunday, a few months ago, mom wasn’t feeling well, and knowing that
I was always interested in seeing what the Lord was doing in other churches in
our geographical area, Michael decided to take me to worship at a little church
we noticed popped up nearer our home.
That was where we met, Bryan and his kids. After church we were invited to his home and
took a lovely tour of his wonderful garden and spent time getting to know him
and his delightful daughter. He has a
heart and vision for developing a Christian Artists Ministry Group for the
surrounding communities and of course I am 100% in support of that. We also discovered that he was a close friend
of another man that was a member of our church.
We had such a wonderful time that Sunday. A time I will never forget.
Over the next couple months, we kept in touch over social
media and kept Bryan and his family in our prayers; His vision for the Arts and
his family.
In addition to all of this, almost a month ago, I decided to
take a break from social media. What
does that have to do with a Toyota Avalon?
Are you ready? Well –
here you go!
This morning, I got this thought, “Reach out to all your
friend and family” – “Tell them what you are looking for”. So, I wrote this on my facebook:
“Breaking my Social Media Vacation for
a SPECIAL REQUEST!
We are hoping to buy a used TOYOTA
AVALON from an owner (not a car lot) If you are within a hundred mile radius of
Burlington NC and want to (or know someone who wants to) sell your/their older
model Toyota Avalon, please message me. The years we would consider buying: 2003, 2004, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015-2019
THANKS SO MUCH for any assistance with
this. Your help will bless two parties (the previous owner and us) around the
Holidays.”
Within a few minutes, Bryan, who I hardly, really, barely
know; that lives 15 minutes away, not only sees my post (which is highly
unusual knowing Facebook algorithms) but messages me that a neighbor of his
asked him a few days ago if he was interested in buying his used Toyota
Avalon! Bryan was not interested; but
went ahead a took a picture of it that day thinking that he was taking the
picture for someone else.
Bryan sent me that picture and guess what! Michael and I bought the Toyota Avalon
tonight! It was the “Needle in the
Haystack” that that Toyota dealer thought we would never find!
Yes! We all believe
that was and is a “God Thing” - We ended
up spending several hours with Bryan and his family tonight celebrating the
amazing, awesomeness of the reality of God in our lives!
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