Testimonies
The Blue Car
A testimony about how God cares for us—and how His timing is always right on.
To begin, we must go back to where this started—the day a driver ran a stop sign and plowed into our van. Thankfully, Melanie wasn’t hurt, but the van had to be towed away.
The insurance company provided a rental car for us to drive while we waited to hear about our van’s fate.
After a month, our agent told us the van was totaled. So, we needed to buy another car. We were happy with the rental car, a Nissan Versa, and thought it might be nice to get one of those or something similar.
We visited car lots and searched all over online but came up empty. At one point, Melanie said she felt that God was saying our next car was going to be blue.
One Saturday, I wanted to drive to a dealer in Beaverton that had a Versa, but by then Melanie was tired of looking. She suggested I just drive over to the local Nissan dealer and see if they could get one from another lot. But the salesman there said they couldn’t do that.
I drove home frustrated.
Later that same day, I felt that I needed to go over to the Honda dealer in town. A salesperson met me and I asked him what cars they had in our budget amount. He showed me several cars, but none of them were right for us.
Then, he said they got a car in on trade the day before that I might like. So we walked around the building to the back lot and as he walked over to the car, I laughed, “Of course, it would be white.” Melanie and I have owned more white cars than any other color during our 37 years of marriage.
I laughed, “Of course it would be white.” Melanie and I have owned more white cars than any other color during our 37-year marriage.
I looked the car over and took some pictures. I asked the price and it was less than half of what we were thinking of spending.
I went home and showed my wife the pictures. She quickly put her shoes on even before I was finished showing the photos to her. We hopped into the rental car and drove over to take the car for a test drive.
Now, this was a car we both liked. But it needed a small repair and would not be ready to sell till the following week.
Now for God’s timing.
That was Saturday. Late Monday afternoon I got an email from our insurance company asking how we would like the payment for our van delivered. I chose direct deposit, which they said could take up to three days to process.
Well, Tuesday morning I checked our account, and the money was there. I have never seen a direct deposit transaction be so quick.
While we were thinking the insurance company was slow, we got the payment just when we needed it—after we found the car.
Wednesday, the salesman said the car was ready to sell. So, we drove over to buy it—and that’s when we noticed something. On both sides of the car was the word “blue” in blue letters. God delivered our blue car just like Melanie felt He told her we would get. And when we drove it for the first time at night, we noticed that the dash lights up in blue as well!
And that’s when we noticed something. On both sides of the car was the word “blue” in blue letters.
Does God care about the things in our life? You bet He does. This car is 11 years old, but whoever owned it took immaculate care of it. It looks like it just came off the showroom floor.
One other thing, this car was never on a website. I had to take action and go to the dealer to find it. God can only direct our steps when we are moving.
-By Vern Johnson, Awaken Church Member
Prayers answered for friend’s difficult pregnancy.
“In her case, all signs have shown a healthy baby, but she has been having issues with her body supporting the pregnancy. Each week that has gone by, her Doctor has warned that a premature delivery was not an if, but a when. The plan was set that she would be admitted to the hospital at week 26 and remain in hospital until delivery. The goal of the medical staff is to get her pregnancy to 28 weeks or beyond.
As you can imagine, a normally happy event has been a source of tremendous stress and concern for her. We have stayed in contact regularly so that I can support her and her family in prayer, but this is one of the first times I have been praying diligently with purpose. I have been praying for a delivery at 30 weeks or later, knowing that if she made it to week 28, many would thank God. However, if she delivers past 30 weeks, God’s involvement could not be denied.
Around week 21, my friend’s membranes ruptured. Though the hospital was able to stop the delivery from occurring, she ended up having to be admitted at week 22 (instead of week 26). Throughout all of this, prayers for a 30 week delivery have never stopped.
As of right now, my friend remains in the hospital. She has yet to deliver, though she has had some tense moments along the way. Doctors continue to be astonished as to how the baby is still healthy, and most importantly, 8/7/2021 is the first day of week 30. My friend, the mom to be, has been praying for week 32 or beyond.
“I have been so blessed to witness what God is doing for my friend and her family. He has shown me that this is not just about praying for a miracle that will happen, but being privileged enough to watch a miracle in progress. This has taught me how to remain focused on the end result, yes, but also to take time to recognize the daily miracles within a miracle. I have definitely been able to praise God more which has significantly eliminated times of doubt. For what has happened and what will in my friend’s situation, all the glory to God.
Thank you, Jesus.”
— by Mike, Awaken Church Member
Randy’s cardiologist said he needed a stent.
“I know that most of you may have heard from Pam by now, but I wanted to convey my thoughts concerning the events of this morning's angiogram.
My cardiologist Dr. Spear related to us (Pam and I) that he fully expected I would need, at the minimum, a stent installed in the near future. However, I'm in that 1%—it seems that I actually have clear heart valves and arteries. What I have been feeling is from low blood pressure—brought on by too much exertion. I am cleared to go camping tomorrow—I just have to imitate a bean bag at camp. I have a 5 lb. weight limit for the next 5 days, until my femoral artery fully heals. This means that Pam gets to do all the packing up, driving, and most of the setup at camp. Michelle will probably help, but I am quite limited for the near future.
I am ALSO cleared to go backpacking later this month! This was a major concern of mine and I am quite surprised that Dr. Spear says I'm good to go. I was sure that at the minimum there would be a stent involved, but no, I just need to cool my jets (my term, not his) and not get too much cardio stress going. If I feel any symptoms, I am to stop, rest a bit, and then I can continue at a reduced pace. Since I haven't felt any symptoms unless we are really pushing it while going uphill, I think we can deal with this. (We will be hiking in the Hoh Rainforest, Olympic Peninsula—a favorite hike for Dave Ediger).
I have no dietary restrictions and will stay with my daily Amlodipine (for blood pressure).
So, am I just a 1 percenter, or, do we see here a very real answer to all the prayers? I'll take "real answer" Bob, for $1000! O ye (Randy) of little faith. God is so good, and I am blessed to call him Father. I know there is a possibility that I am in that 1%, but I choose to believe God intervened here, and I give Him thanks and worship. I have seen Him do so too many times to think that stuff like this (cut to the chase here Randy)—a miracle—does not happen. Yes, it might be classified a “grade b” miracle (just a “lucky” percentage of the odds), but the result was considerably better than I dared hope, and it was far more likely that I would be scheduled for some type of surgery in Portland right now.
I know that we do not always receive the answer we desire to our prayers. However, God is still good, all He does is righteous and holy, there is no “trickery or deceit” with Him. He is also, as we know, “acquainted with grief” which is why I think, Psalm 116 says that, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” He is a God who, out of love, took on our humanity so we may know we have a Savior who understands what it means to be cold, hungry and misunderstood—in short, one who can empathize with our weaknesses (Heb 4:15). Because of this, because I know he is “rich in mercy” and is above all, Holy, I know that the answer we get will be the best answer for us, regardless of what that may look like in the short term.
Aaaannnd, there I go preaching again. Well, no apologies today, I am feeling blessed and this morning, post op, I felt truly loved by God (I know that was an answer to prayer, Elders). That, BTW, is a wonderful feeling and I want to share it.
We are off camping tomorrow! Many, many thanks to all of you who were praying for a good outcome for me this morning. Give Praise to God!”
—by Randy Stewart, Awaken Church Member
