Trading it Down

The month after Brooke was born we were in need of a new car. After searching and searching we ended up with a beautiful Pontiac Grand Prix (that was less than 2 years old at the time) with all the bells and whistles. It had a little over 10,000 miles on it and it drove more smoothly than you can imagine! Despite purchasing the extended warranty, we never, ever had one bit of trouble from that trusty car. On top of all that, it was so sleek and we just felt good driving it.

As you would expect, a car like I just described comes with a car payment that isn't so wonderful. It was a big financial responsibility and John and I were SICK of it. For me to stay home with our girls we have to sacrifice and we try SO hard to manage our money wisely to save for our future. After doing a financial "Spring cleaning," we decided to sell our beloved car. John's brother agreed to buy it from us but he was very patient and kind in letting us take our time to fork it over to him. This morning we went to the bank and paid off the loan and while it felt good, we were a little bogged down by the fact that we would have to be a one-car-family until we found an inexpensive, reliable car.

After driving around all morning we didn't really see many cars that we were willing to purchase and it was frustrating. We knew we COULD get a really nice car but we truly wanted to cut back on our monthly expenses. We stopped at one final dealership before heading home and there we found the perfect car for us! It's a white '04 Chevy Malibu with 82,000 miles on it (less than our Pontiac has right now). It's in pristine condition, great on gas, and it has a nice, roomy trunk. We got an incredible deal on it and it even came with an extended warranty! I feel VERY blessed that God provided us with a car and that we are officially rid of that car payment. Thank you, Lord!


On the way home from our big purchase John and I were talking quite a bit about things. I told him how bad I felt that we had traded down his awesome car for an adequate car. I know how men are with their "toys" so I felt upset for him. This is what he said, "Baby, it's a car. Who cares what we drive as long as it gets us back and forth?" He then went on to say that now is our time to sacrifice and cut back for our growing family's needs and that one day when the kids are grown we'll have a super nice car again (hopefully). I have always respected and admired my husband but seeing the way he happily sacrificed a car that he loved for the better of our family just really touched my heart. It's one thing to do something for your family but to do it so joyfully and with such willingness is amazing. I cannot express how blessed I am to have John as my husband! He amazes me every single day.

So, anyways, we pick up our new car on Monday. I'm really excited! I am blown away by God's faithfulness to continually provide for our needs.