What Does God Want?

"My Pig is dead. The Ford Explorer I've driven for the past fourteen years has breathed its last. At 2:40AM on March 17, 2016, the paragon of mileage and memories known as The Pig Mobile crawled her way up the exit ramp off I-95 and bled to death in a parking spot right in front of my eyes."

These were the opening lines of a post I wrote almost two years ago. I loved my truck. (Can you tell?) But, after almost 200,000 miles, her heart had stopped; her engine had blown. For most of my children's lives, she had seen road trips, an accident which was almost her undoing, miles of marketing and children's extracurriculars, and lots and lots of TLC. She was, to me, worth saving. But were we being good stewards to invest that kind of money in a fourteen year old vehicle?

Scott and I decided to pray about it. While we waited for God's answer, I drove my husband's much older pick-up. He loved "Esther" the way I loved The Pig. To him, she was an icon of his children's youth, and a throwback to an era when trucks were built like trucks -- or so he said. To me, she was great on the big roads, terrible for the "around town" stuff. Getting Mom in and out required a step stool; groceries had to be hiked into the cab (which was lifted to a point just above my waist) or stowed in the bed, which meant no more than one stop at a time, unless I wanted all of Delco to help themselves to my pork chops and 2% milk. But she was a blessing for which I tried desperately to be grateful.

In August, all of my wear and tear on the old girl caused Esther to demand a sabbatical right in the driveway of our home. So, with only one week of vacation left, I took the time off work to pray, again, for God's direction. Get Esther fixed? Repair The Pig? The two hours of vehicle shopping that Scott and I had done left me staggering from sticker shock -- surely, this wasn't being a good steward with God's money!

It was Tuesday, just days before I had to be back at work, and, if we were going to fix The Pig, "decision day."

"D'you get anything yet?" Scott asked.
"Nope," was my reply, "You?"
"Nope."
"Well," I said, "I never really believed we shouldn't spend the money on The Pig; I just wasn't sure it was the right thing to do."
"Do we have the money?" Scott asked.
"Yes," I answered.
"Well, I guess that's what we do, then."

Within minutes the work began on my truck, and I picked her up, days later, mere hours before I had to be back at work. She ran better than she had in years. New life had been breathed through my old companion! I wanted to driver her every minute I could!

Two months later, as I was rounding a curve on the road into work, a driver coming the opposite direction, lost control and took out my precious Pig in a near head-on collision. I knew at that moment, she would never rise from the ashes again. The Pig was finally gone.

So, the questions lingered: "Had God been showing us something else all along? Was repairing The Pig really what He wanted us to do? Did we rebel against His plan to get rid of The Pig?"

The short answer is this: I think the answers to all of those questions are found in Matthew 6:33.

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

We sought God through prayer. We desired His will. We ached to be good stewards of the gifts He had given us. And, even in replacing The Pig once and for all, we sought Him again.

That is what God wants. Whether we purchase an old car, or a new car, or a three-legged horse, the outcome is the same when we seek to obey and serve God.