My New Car

Heavenly Father sure looked out for us that first summer when we were alone.  Sheldon left the first week of May.  Within two weeks I had a contract to teach first grade the following fall, and also a job to teach summer school in the meantime. 


We had always struggled to pay our bills, especially the mortgage.  When Sheldon left we were a month behind, and I had no idea how I was going to even pay what was immediately due.  Although Sheldon promised he would give us half his pay check each month, it didn't really happen.  I talked to my Bishop about the bills, and he suggested letting the house go.


"It will take your mortgage company at least six months, maybe longer, before they foreclose on you," he explained.  "In the meantime you'll be able to stay in your house, which will give the kids some stability at least for a little while, and by then you'll be teaching school so you'll have an income again."


"But isn't that dishonest, to live here without making the payments?" I asked.


"No," he answered comfortingly.  "You've been paying mortgage insurance for three years, which is designed to cover just such a condition."


"Oh," I answered, relieved that at least I didn't have to move immediately.


My next big concern was getting a reliable car.  Sheldon had sold our old Mazda when he got a brand new work truck to drive, but all I had was an ancient, ugly, brown heap of junk that we had somehow acquired from a friend of his.  The radiator leaked, the power steering and breaks needed new fluid every few days, and the battery was close to dying.  I needed a new car.


With my teaching contract signed, I went car shopping.  I knew I wouldn't be able to afford much, so I was thrilled when I found a small, nine-year-old powder blue ford station wagon that looked  nice and I could  afford. The dealership had just acquired it that morning, they didn't even have the title yet, but they let me sign the papers anyway and take the car home, promising to send the title the next day.   Happily I signed the papers and drove my very own car off the lot.  As soon as I got home I called our insurance agent and insured my new car.  Then I planned a party.


We invited mom and dad and my best friend and her family to dinner the following day. I was going to make chimichaungas and home-made watermelon ice cream, so the following morning I loaded all the kids in our new car and headed down to the grocery store.


On the way home a teenage boy ignored a stop sign and slammed into my car as we drove down the street. Thank goodness none of us were badly hurt, but I couldn't believe the mess he'd made out of my cute little station wagon, not to mention the smashed eggs, watermelon, and ice squished all over the back of my car.  At least it was insured.


Since the car was totaled the insurance company proposed paying me $1500.00, what they felt the car was worth.  The problem was that would leave me still owing the dealership $300.  I talked with my lawyer and he worked out a much fairer deal, but when I contacted the dealership so I could get the title and settle everything up, they discovered they didn't have the title.  In actuality, they had sold me a car they didn't even own.  Frantically, they bent over backwards to work something out with my insurance company.   I ended up with a bright, candy-apple-red Ford station wagon, the same kind I had bought to begin with only a year newer, free and clear with no lien, plus a couple thousand dollars extra.  It was amazing!

Like I said, the Lord really watched out for us during those hard times.