Too Much Drama

We have had quite the week. On Tuesday, we decided to go test drive 2 vans since all the looking we have done has been online and we hadn't actually driven anything! The first van we drove was a fully loaded 2004 Honda Odyssey with heated leather seats, sto n go, dvd, power everything, the works! I immediately fell in love with it. After that, we went and drove a Grand Caravan. That's what we've been looking for and it paled in comparison to the Odyssey! I know that both do the same job and for those of you who drive one, I'm not dissing it, but the Odyssey is in a whole different class. There are good reasons why the Odyssey is the top-rated van! It was such a smooth, solid, and quieter ride. We had already given the go-ahead to our friend to bid on up to 4 different Grand Caravans at an auction the next morning, so we felt sick to our stomachs about the whole thing. We didn't feel it would be right to change our minds and go back on our word, so we prayed that if we were supposed to have the Odyssey, that we would be outbid on all 4 vans. On Wednesday afternoon, our friend called us and said that we got outbid on 3 of the vans and then the last van they had been bidding on, we had still been $1200 away from our max. bid and then the auctioneer sold it to someone else in the middle of the bidding! That should have technically never happened except that I think that was the hand of the Lord. So, we made an offer on the Odyssey and the owner accepted. Jared went to the bank on Thursday morning and got a bank draft and we were going to pick up the van yesterday evening. In the afternoon, the owner of the van called Jared and backed out of the deal. It turns out, his girlfriend decided she wanted to keep it (instead of her Caravan...I don't blame her), so no van for us. We were both really upset, but then God reminded me that He still has a good plan and He must have something better in mind for us. He has really been testing our faith, our patience, and our trust in Him. I was reminded of these verses: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:2-4 Yep, He's sure been developing perseverance in us! There are a couple of similar Odysseys that we've found online for similar prices, so I hope to go see them next week. It's been a week full of ups and downs, but there was an unexpected blessing in the mail yesterday. It turns out I got a small income tax return! We thought that my income tax came to $0, but apparently not. Yay! Van or no van, I'm so thankful to be celebrating Easter this week-end and what Jesus did for us on the cross! We are blessed beyond words!