A
Van from God
Carolyn
Counterman’s world turned upside down by her family members’ problems, as well
as her own. She had had to resign from her job because she couldn't work and
deal with post-traumatic stress disorder at the same time. She says, “We
thought God would surely get us through—but then the family fell apart. My son
went to prison. My daughter-in-law lost custody of the kids because of her drug
use, and because she had covered up my son’s crime.”
Carolyn
and her husband suddenly had four grand-kids living with them. They wondered how
they were going to feed, clothe, and transport the children to appointments
and church.
“We didn't mind asking God for food. We even asked Him for clothes, though it made
me a little uncomfortable,” Carolyn says. ”But when a woman suggested to me
that we pray for a van, I balked. Sure, we were having to take two cars
everywhere we went with the kids, and it was an inconvenience. However, I had
been taught as a youngster not to ask God for material things. We had three
cars already. One of them was not paid for, and another needed repairs, but we
had them. This woman was insistent, though, that we pray for a van.”
The
couple didn't have anything to lose by asking, so they prayed for a van: “It wouldn't hurt our feelings if God said no, because we never expected Him to say
yes.”
Then
things got worse. Carolyn’s father, who lived with them, began to have major
problems with his car, so he borrowed their slightly broken car. Without her
husband’s income, Carolyn’s daughter-in-law lost her van because she couldn't pay for it. So her in-laws lent her another of their cars. Says Carolyn, “We
were down to one unpaid-for car—and sharing a broken car with my dad. Then the
call came, while I was standing in the middle of Wal-Mart looking at socks.
Some old friends had seen me joke on Facebook about needing a van. They wanted
to know if anyone had solved my transportation problem. I said no.”
The
friends told Carolyn they wanted to buy her a van. She was floored. “They
apologized—actually apologized—that it was not new and not the model I wanted!”
she says.
Her
friends bought the family a van, paying the tax, title, and license fees. They
transferred it into Carolyn’s name and handed her the key.
She
says, “God had said ‘Yes!’ when I expected Him to say no. With our family so
messed up, I expected God to be displeased with us, but He decided to bless us
instead. He gave our friends a heart for our family and the money to buy a van.
I know that God is not short on cash, but I still get surprised when He spends
it on me.”
