Small Miracles: A New Van

      When we upgraded from our typical seven seater mini van to our 8 seater Chevy Astro, I had to get acquainted with the slightly larger size before I felt comfortable driving it around town. So it is no wonder that I am waiting for a few lessons from my husband before I get behind the wheel of our new 12 seater van. The first time I got behind the wheel of our 8 seater, I was not accustomed to the slightly larger width of the van and hit the corner when I made a left turn. By the end of my first two week of driving I probably hit a few more corners and knocked in our side view mirror a few times, but needless to say I got the hang of the new inches and thank G-d enjoyed a few uneventful years of driving around with the kids to various outings.

      We know that with every new child comes new blessings. About a month and a half ago we decided it was time to upgrade to a 12 seater van, and what better time to do that then two days before our month long trip to Canada? Since our new van was not ready yet they gave us a courtesy van to use in the interim. When we returned and it was time for us to take possession of our new van, my husband went down to the dealership to finalize the last of the paper work. As he was sitting in the office talking with the owner, the owner mentioned to my husband how good our timing was to trade in our old van.

      "You see," he said. "A day and a half after you had given up possession of your Chevy Astro, I brought it around to park it at a lot across the street. I swung around to park, hit the brake to stop but the darn thing just kept on moving.... straight for the street. Thankfully I had enough room to veer off to the side without hitting anyone or anything. I have not been that shaken in a long time."

He looked at my husband in the eyes and said, "G-d is really looking out for you."

      Thank G-d we had an uneventful trip to and from Canada, and needless to say our old van is undergoing a full brake line rebuild... But I must say, it was G-d's timing, not ours. You see, had it not been for, please G-d a new little one, we would have no reason to trade in our van, and would still be driving the old one....

- Matana

                                                                                                              photos by Mendel B.