Accidental Acceptance
As I stepped out of my car, the warmth of the spring sun penetrated my pale wintered skin. I had just parked the car next to an SUV near the trailhead of the Resurgence in Motueka. Phoebe and I proceeded to enter the forest and spent the next 20 minutes exploring the gorgeous frigid blue waters of the Resurgence. As we returned to the entrance of the trail, a strange glare from my car door caught my eye. There was a lady standing by the SUV looking at my car with an uneasy look on her face. She had backed her SUV into my rear passenger door and I was in complete shock. When I saw the damage done to my car, I was completely devastated and began to tear up because I could not believe what had happened. Plus, the timing just couldn’t’ have been any worse. We still had another week on the road before I could sell the car and I had to be out of the country in two weeks! Not only was I already facing a time constraint to get this car from one island to another and up to the city to sell it in a week, I was now thrown a whole new curveball and needed to figure out how to get it repaired while also praying that I would find a buyer still interested. My emotions were a bit unstable that fine day, but I had to keep telling myself that God does all things for good and that even if I couldn’t see the good in it now, it would soon be revealed to me and I would eventually understand the purpose of this accident. After much deliberation about what to do with the car, I was advised to file a claim with my insurance company. Luckily, I had full coverage on the car (cost of the repair $1500NZD)! In NZ, you aren’t even required to have car insurance, but I am so glad that I had it. The insurance company was great to work with and they made it all very easy. While on the road, I set up an appointment with a paint and panel shop in Auckland and planned on having the repairs done the week that I was there. The only problem was that the week that I was planning to be in Auckland was the same week I needed to find a buyer for my car! So in my mind, I had 4 days to get the car repaired and then 3 days to sell the car! WHHHAAT?! I was constantly trying to ask God, “Why?” and “What exactly am I supposed to be learning here?!”
After advertising the car on 3 different websites and telling my Auckland friends about it, I was unable to get any bites. I had come to peace with the fact that I was probably going to get about 70% less for the car than what I wanted because I would have to sell it to an auctioneer and get the minimum anyone would pay me for it. This was not very settling, but I thought that maybe God wanted me to learn to accept the experience for what it was and to know that life isn’t always fair, but that it’s all about the attitude we carry and how we react to things that builds our character.
After sleeping on this thought for a few days, I thought, well maybe I’ll lower the price online to see if that attracts a buyer. As I went to go change the price, I received the phone call that changed everything. A beautiful voice from the other end of the line was calling to inquire about my car! I was a bit shocked and also nervous because I would have to tell her what happened to my car and I feared that she would not be interested after hearing about the situation. Before I said a word, she mentioned that she was very interested and that she needed to buy a car fairly soon because her car had been backed into. What?! Was I hearing this right? Can we really have this in common? The ONE person who called me about the car also had a similar accident as me? I was completely perturbed and also relieved! My voice raised in excitement and I began telling her about how my car had also been backed into and that it was going to be repaired at my expense (insurance covered). She was still very interested and was very excited about the car. I couldn’t believe it, but she then told me that she wanted to buy it and that she could deposit $500 into my account the next day to secure it! (Mind you, I’m still on the other side of the country at this point, so she never asked to test drive it or have it looked at by a mechanic, but the car was in amazing shape and she trusted me). The next day, the money was put in my account, the car was sold, the repairs were scheduled, and she agreed to pay the exact amount I was hoping for! I MEAN C’MON! God is GOOD or what?! He is so faithful! I would have NEVER thought this would have gone down the way it did and it was even better than my best-case scenario. I no longer had to find a buyer and stress about it on the road or while in Auckland. All I had to focus on was getting the car safely to the city to get repaired and then it was hers!
The rest of the road trip went well and soon we were in the city. The repairs were done perfectly and the car is now with the new owner, Jody. She is VERY happy with the car and I know she will take good car of Miss Bessie. J It was sad to see her go because of all the fun trips we’ve gone on and how well she treated me, but I felt such a sense of relief when I handed over the keys. Let’s just say, I won’t be buying a car anytime soon.
In conclusion, God really showed Himself to me in this experience. He showed me that He does indeed intend all things for good and that we may not understand what He is doing in the present, but in time, with patience, we will eventually see the fruit of what He has been working on within us. I am so grateful that I serve a God who can be trusted and looks out for me in all circumstances.