We've done it. Today we bought our first minivan in anticipation of baby Marin coming into the world this December. I must say that I'm not much of a shopper, either for groceries or for houses, but we're working class Americans so we've done both and much in between.
To take you back a couple weeks, I found myself contemplating what would be the wisest course of action (if needed) for us vehicle-wise. Our main vehicle has been a '95 Maxima for 2 or 3 years, and for about the same amount of time, I've driven an '89 Park Avenue for my work car. The miles have racked up a bit and although both are still getting us from A to B (most of the time), I found myself concerned a bit for my family's safety this winter. After talking this through some with Gen, it seemed proper to start shopping around a bit. Unfortunately though, given the way that I'm wired, "a bit" isn't how I tend to go about these sort of things. Right away I started looking, praying, looking, thinking, calling, looking... There are so many factors to consider: older verses newer, advice from others verses/combined with the Spirit's leading, 7 seats verses 8 seats, private party verses dealership. I can't keep up this kind of search for long. I need to work through it and finish it with God Motivation.
Now for me, having God Motivation in this situation means that I need to ultimately keep my focus off of the vehicle classifieds and more on serving the Lord. This requires wisdom. Again, because of the way my mind seems to work, I can put a lot of time and energy into finding our dream minivan (oxymoron?), but this will mean the sacrifice of other tasks and a lack of attention given to those things that I would otherwise deem worthy of regular attention. I must be quick as possible to get back to the point of doing the core things that God wants me to do. So when it comes to the minivan, it's time to get it done and behind me, trusting God with the outcome. Better is the end of a thing than its beginning (Ecclesiastes 7:8). What a wicked thing it would be for me to draw out the process when I know I'll be tempted toward consumption with it while neglecting in some measure my relationship with the Lord for any extended period. I need to be loving Him, studying Him, and living for Him completely.
Lord, help me to be God Motivated in this life where there are so many things that would take my focus away from You and your desires for me. And Lord, please help us to use this minivan as a tool to help us live this life for You and not for stuff.
Postscript: God is working things out by the way. My brother and I are planning to swap cars tomorrow, him paying me the difference in value between the two. Lord willing, he'll have a good car for a young, single guy, and I'll get a slight upgrade (reliability-wise) in my work vehicle. All that will need to be accomplished after that is to find a new home for the old Buick. Sell it cheap; move along.
No comments:
Post a Comment