Back in early Spring, my grandson, Jacob called me from his home in Montana. We talked about this and that, then he told me that he was wanting to buy a pickup truck. Of course my ears perked up because now we were talking about wheels, one of my favorite topics. Jacob had a budget, and all he could find nearby were worn out trucks with 300,000 miles on them. He asked if I’d help him find a good used truck, and after I agreed, he said he send me his wish list in an email. This was going to be fun; shopping for a vehicle without spending my own money!

What he wanted was a truck with:

• Extended cab and six foot box
• V-6 engine
• Four wheel drive
• Automatic transmission
• Preferred make: Toyota Tacoma

Other makes and models could be considered.

Of course I searched online and all I found were good vehicles at prices that were out of range, or beat up hulks with one wheel in the junkyard.Then I took a leisurely tour of local car lots to view the very limited inventories of mid size pickups. It seems everyone wants Bigfoot trucks with giant tires and crew cabs designed to carry six football linemen, preferably powered by huge, noisy, and smokey diesel engines.

After the initial excitement wore down, Jacob seemed more and more willing to accept something less than optimal, like a Dodge Dakota.

Until one day when I went to town for my usual Wednesday breakfast with the boys; you know, old guys solving problems while ingesting eggs and hash browns. On the drive home, I suddenly decided (or was led to decide) to take a different route than the usual one. This route took me past a small used car dealership in Sturtevant, and as I cruised by I spotted something; a Toyota Tacoma parked in the front row.

I wheeled in and parked and got out to look. The truck looked to be in good shape, but I couldn’t tell what year it was or what they were asking for it because.there was no sticker in the window. The owner came out and as we talked I found that the truck was not for sale yet because he had to do some repairs first. We talked price and I took some pictures to send to my grandson. The vehicle?

• Toyota Tacoma, 2009, with only 135,00 miles on it and with:
• Extended cab and six foot box
• V-6 engine
• Four wheel drive
• Automatic transmission

Using CarFax, I found the truck was a one-owner, well maintained at regular intervals, and with many new parts.

Jacob authorized me to take a test drive, and although the price was a little over budget, told me to make a deal if I could. My drive confirmed that the truck was all it appeared to be. I made an offer, and they asked for a $500 deposit; I gave them a thousand, just to be sure.The dealer later told me that afterward three more potential buyers looked at the Tacoma and wanted to buy it on the spot. One of them was willing to take it and do the repairs himself.

Now, why such a long story about an old truck? It’s because I believe that God led me to that dealership to provide something that He knew my grandson needed. Listen to what Jesus said about our ordinary needs:

Matthew 6:25-33 (ESV) Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Yes, God cares about the little things in our lives, not just the big stuff. 

Now Jacob is a firefighter with the Montana Forestry Service, so he could not take time off to come to Wisconsin to get his pickup right then. But last weekend, he traveled to here on a train, and when he arrived he was so delighted with the Tacoma that he hugged it first, before giving a hug to Grandma and Grandpa. After we fed him and visited for a couple of days, we loaded up the truck with some of my shop tools and off he went.

Now I’m looking at that empty space in my garage and thinking….