So, in order to keep the integrity of this blog, and uphold the standard of honesty, I have to make a confession. *Deep breath* …here goes…I am now the driver of an SUV.
*GASP* *CHOKE* “No! No! How can you be a Kashi eating, LiveDifferent Challenging, Trader Joe shopping, radical recycling girl and drive the devil’s vehicle?! Have you gone soft?! What next?!” No, no, let me explain. Before you start blaming West Linn, let me explain. We’ve shared one car for the past year, a Honda accord. Before that we had a great little Honda 2-door civic which I drove for eight years. So you can see we are Honda fans. And yes, I admit, deep down in my secret heart I thought the most perfect family car in the world was a Honda Pilot because they seat 8 if needed, get good gas mileage, have a great Honda service record, and retain their value really well. But owning an SUV always seemed like a no-no if I was going to consider myself a decent environmentally responsible steward. Well…when Jeff started his new job we had to have a 2nd car because we had to be in two different places as I’m still in school. Not wanting to buy anything, we borrowed an old Jeep my dad had that he was trying to sell. So we were living in a house that a family member is trying to sell and driving a car that a family member was trying to sell! My dad got the idea that if he could trade his jeep straight across for a family car of some sort, then we could have the car and then just pay him for it as we were able, with no interest. (I know, generous father!)
So, guess what he found to trade? A crazy ridiculously amazing deal on a 2003 Honda Pilot. And he got it for $6,000 less than the normal price because my dad is Mr. Dealer. So, to make a long story short, we got a phone call from my dad at 3:30pm last Friday: “You have to come sign papers so the title can be in your name!” I test drove the car, Jeff raced home, we signed papers, and by 5:30pm we were driving it home. A Honda Pilot. Yes, I know, an SUV. I spent Saturday feeling ridiculously guilty for having a nice car, wondering what people would think if they saw me driving such a beautiful rig (did I mention it’s silver and gorgeous?), and then realized I was offending God by feeling guilty. The car was an amazing gift from a loving father (actually two loving fathers, one earthly and one heavenly!), a huge blessing beyond what I would ever have asked for. Easy to clean leather seats, tons of room for toys and carseats and strollers, 4wheel drive for our trips to visit Jeff’s mom in Bend. The best part is that my back is singing for joy because now I don’t have to bend over to put my huge son into his carseat–no more stooping! I know it sounds ridiculous but everytime I drive the car I feel like it’s a kiss from God.
Ok, last bit of confession is that the thing that makes it even more humorous is that the car has a DVD player. We don’t even have a TV or DVD player in our house! So yeah, the joke is that if we want to have friends over to watch a movie we can just go sit in the driveway in our car with a bowl of popcorn. And, to correct what I wrote in an earlier post, the “necessary repairs” were bogus…we just need a timing belt and we’re good to go. Yay!
Whew! There it is. You have it all. it’s off my chest. Condemn me if you will. The confession of this SUV driver is that Jesus Christ is Lord. I deserve nothing, but He chooses to give and take away as He sees. And for today, I’ll be groovin’ singing praises to God guilt-free in a sweet silver SUV.