I was in a bad car accident at the beginning of February. I was driving to a friend’s house from babysitting when a driver ran a red light, t-boned a car that then hit me. Honestly, it happened so fast that I didn’t have time to be afraid. Had it not been for the pictures, I don’t know if I would have even been able to comprehend what happened.

Let’s just say that the month February was a doozy. The initial soreness from being in a car accident, saying goodbye to the first car that was ever mine in a tow yard, the hassle of dealing with car insurance, the bank, GAP insurance to buying a new car that wasn’t planned.

But in the midst of the unplanned, unexpected and unfortunate, were some life lessons begging to be learned. These two specifically are thematic for what God has been trying to teach me for years.

Be content with what you’ve got. Two things about me: one, I loved my Honda CR-V; it was a faithful car, got great gas mileage. It’s the car I drove when I moved to Indianapolis, and I’m very sentimental about that season of my life. I put a lot of miles on it, but it was beloved. Two, even though I loved my CR-V, I thought I was certain about what my next car would be – a Toyota Highlander. Enter the chance to get a new car, albeit sooner than planned, but nevertheless, a the opportunity was there.

But guess what? I ended up buying the exact same car. Why I bothered test driving a second Highlander after I spent the first test drive comparing it to the CR-V and telling the salesman all the ways the CR-V was better is still beyond me. We’ll blame it on being way overwhelmed that week. I ended up being so confident in purchasing another Honda CR-V that the sales guy actually asked me if I was sent from Honda Corporate to educate them on why people should buy the car.

God used this car buying experience to guide me in learning how to be content with what He’s given me.

I’m capable of doing even what scares me. I always assumed that the next time I bought a car, I’d be married. You know what they say about assumptions. But here’s the thing, it all happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to wallow in my timeline being so different than everyone else’s or cry about singleness. I simply kept moving forward.

I handled the car insurance claim and got my rental car covered for a couple of extra days, simply because I asked.

I called car dealerships, explained my situation and asked to test drive cars.

I made a chart to calculate what the difference in cost in gas would be in the Highlander vs. the CR-V over the course of a year.

I negotiated monthly car payments based on what my budget told me I could afford.

I navigated the GAP insurance process, which is exactly what I wanted to do after my first insurance claim was closed, was to open another one. 

And I did it all by myself. Maybe because I’m a little bit stubborn, but also because as I kept getting things done, I realized I was more than capable of doing the next thing, too.

I surely don’t want another car I drive to ever be totaled, but I am so thankful for the unexpected lessons learned along the way. God doesn’t waste our experiences, not for one moment.