My car needed maintenance. Several times over the next few months, I needed to make repairs, new tires, brakes, etc. My brother told me I could use what I needed to sustain me.
I paid off some debts and then focused on replacing the money. I rationalized that I would rather owe my brother than owe all the interest I was paying on the loans I had.
I stayed in the camper until it started hitting nights close to freezing. The camper, unfortunately, had a broken water heater, so I couldn't shower or bathe in the bathroom. I had to boil water on the stove to bathe with. It was better than nothing.
I had about half the money left to give my brother when he got out, and I planned to pay the rest out by paying for his utilities and giving him spending money each month when he got out, and paying the taxes on the property for him until the money was paid off.
On November 28th, a Friday, I rented a room at the Boutique Motel. My brother was up for parole on December 10th. So, I was preparing for it.
On November 29th, I was going to pick up a customer at the airport to transport him through the Uber app, when a truck in front of me came to a sudden stop. It had been raining that day and the streets were slick. I slammed on my brakes. They locked and I slid into the trucks rear-end.
It was enough to dent the front of my car, causing a leak somewhere that was pouring onto the pavement. No damage was visible on the truck in front of me. He took pictures of my information and the police were not even called.
But, my 2011 Chevrolet HHR that I drove to 248 cities across Texas, nearly 92,000 miles since I bought it in March of 2024, was done. I was going to miss it.
My car was still able to drive, so I cancelled the pick up and drove it straight to my brother's property, by the camper, and parked it out of the way.
Then, I waited until Monday and went to Robbins Toyota to see about getting another car. I was there all day, as they searched lending companies who would take me. By the end of the day, there was only one more they could try, and they were waiting for an answer.
On Tuesday, I waited in my room for the call. By the end of the day, there was still no answer.
On Wednesday morning, they finally called and said I had been turned down.
I was running out of money just sitting there. I hadn't been able to work since Saturday and I had to get back in the game as soon as possible.
So, I went to McClarty Ford, who told me that none of their lenders would work with an Uber Driver.
I went from there to Stone Motors, which was closed. I had to take another Uber to Able Autos on 7th. They, too, were closed. I got the number off of one of their cars and called to leave a message. I got the number of one of their salesmen from the answering machine that answered.
I then got another Uber and went to Tri-State Motors on State Line. I was immediately shut down, told that they refused to work with Uber Drivers.
So, I called the Able Auto salesman. He directed me to a website to fill out my information. So I did. I called him and told him I had completed the application, and he called me and told me that he had a few cars he could work with me on.
So, on December 3rd, I settled in for the day with an appointment to go to Able Auto the next day. It was going to leave me owing my brother even more, but if I couldn't work, he wasn't going to get his full amount back. Worse than that: I was going to be on the streets with NO WAY to support myself.
Through all of this, I kept praying. I kept believing that my story wasn't over yet. And, I kept working toward the next chapter.
I went to Able Auto on December 4th, and was matched with a 2017 Acura MDX for $15,000. Payments would be $447/month. I took it.
Driving the Acura MDX was like a God-upgrade from my former car. It was as if God was saying, "You have been faithful, now I am giving you something better to work in."
All of the windows worked. The radio worked (I put it on K-Love). The air worked.
On December 9th, my tire was low on the driver's side rear, so I took the car to Discount Tire. I was told I needed a new set after they carefully inspected it. So, I bought four new tires. I was then told that one of my wheels was bent and would eventually have to be replaced. I would rather replace one wheel than deal with transmission problems. But, I decided to wait until I could go back to work full force, so I could afford to have it done. It wasn't an emergency, and it could wait.
I was patiently waiting on my tags. In the meanwhile, I tried doing deliveries only while I waited. But, I wasn't even making half the money I made doing rideshare rides. I was thankful that I at least had a car to drive. So, I waited as patiently as someone who was eager to get back to work full force could possibly do.
On December 11, it was obvious that my brother wasn't going to be coming home any time soon, which, in a way, was a mixed blessing. It would give me time to replenish his account after borrowing from it to stay working.
If I could just get back to work.
I was frustrated, because the day before I had only made $30 after working all day, and it just wasn't worth it to sit in my car all day. So, I decided to take a day off to renew my mind and my focus as I rested.
God obviously wanted me to take this time to rejuvenate and get ready for the mission He has in store for me.
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