As I have mentioned before, God has helped me many times when I was fixing something. He has also blessed me with automotive opportunities. When I was teaching I was approached by a fellow teacher who needed some help getting an old car running. Naturally I said "sure". He said it was his father-in-law's car and hadn't run in over 13 years. When I asked what year it was , all he could remember was that it looked like a big parade car. A year went by before he asked again. He told me that they sold the property and had to get the car out the coming weekend or the new owners would take possession. I told him, to my best estimate, that it would probably sell for around $1500.00 at most if it were drivable. I also estimated that it would take about $1000.00 worth of parts and labor to get it ready to sell. ( To restore the braking, fuel, and ignition systems - not to mention if the trans had dried up ). Then I decided I had better consult the Lord on this because I knew it was a luxury item and could not have without his blessing. I said a simple prayer of "Lord if buying this car is your will, then please show me a sign". So I told my friend that I could help him get it ready to sell for $1000.00 or buy it from him for $500.00 He said he would talk to his wife and get back with me. Now I didn't have the money in the bank at the time but felt if the Lord wanted me to have this car, He would work it out. The next day he told me his wife agreed to sell me the car for $500.00. When I got home from work that very day, I had a check in the mail for $517.00 for some curriculum writing I had done the previous summer! I knew right then that the Lord was gonna help me. That Friday, my wife and I went to look at the car that I had bought to see how I was gonna get it home before noon on Saturday. In a small, one car garage, buried under a mound of furniture was a 1951 Buick 56r Riviera. It had a grill so large and shiny that it almost matched my smile. Two door hard top, automatic, wide white walls, tons of chrome, I nearly fainted from joy.
The next morning I showed up with a small air compressor to inflate the flattened tires and about an hour before the tow truck was to arrive. I began removing all the furniture and tried the first tire. No luck, the tire was wrinkled and air was leaking as fast as I was pumping it in. In dismay, I prayed "Lord, now what?"
I soon was given the idea to check the spare. I popped the trunk and found the original spare, pumped it up and traded the first tire with the original jack. I took out the wrinkled tire and jumped on it until the compressor filled the leak. After airing up all the tires, I rolled it out. I had just leaned up against the car to catch my breath when the flatbed tow truck came down the street. It was perfect timing. Remembering all the stress and prayers, I began to chuckle to think what the Lord had pulled off that morning. He was truly helping me. I got it safely home and began inspecting the car and pondering what the Lord had in store for me next.