When it rains, it pours. Sometimes, when it rains, it hails. That’s what happened to us in June this year.
Of course, I don’t mean little pebble hail. Dallas-Fort Worth was bombarded with golf ball to baseball sized hail.
The weatherman didn’t expect it. Those icy bombs seemed to come out of nowhere!
I tried filming some, but I didn’t get much because I was afraid to get hit by those falling ice-balls of death.
Once the hail stopped, I knew that our vehicles would be badly dented. Part of me was nervous that one of the windows might be cracked. Well, I was wrong. Both cars had busted out back windows and severe hail damage.
Balls of Ice Ravaged our Vehicles
At least it did financially.
We called our insurance company immediately and filed claims on all our vehicles. Side note: we have three but the van isn’t reliable and we’re trying to sell it. Interestingly, the van received the least hail damage and no broken windows.
After the inspections, repair estimates, and all the fun of dealing with insurance claims, both cars were deemed total losses. The damage to the Malibu was so severe that the estimated repair cost was creeping close to $10,000 (the car was worth just barely over that).
So, here we sit with a van (for sale) that’s not reliable and two cars that look like golf balls, one of which we financed about one month ago. Maybe it’ll improve gas mileage? Nah, probably not.
Despite this disheartening situation, we realized that all this is likely a blessing in disguise. At least that’s what we’re going to tell ourselves because we’d rather have faith in God than delve back into depressing misery.
The Hail was a Blessing from God
Our van has been having some mechanical issues for a while. In May, it reached the point where my wife couldn’t go three miles without it overheating. That’s not something you want in the Texas summer heat.
We decided to sell it to someone who loves refurbishing vehicles or needs it for parts, or just wants a lawn ornament. Seriously, make a reasonable offer.
Because we both work, we needed to get another vehicle, which meant financing one. Our budget didn’t have room for much of a payment, but we figured we can somehow squeeze one in. We found a vehicle that was reliable and had payments that were at the very limit. We took the deal hoping God would help us through this.
Not long after, it was totaled by hail.
Herein is where the blessing becomes evident.
Because the Hyundai was totaled and the van unreliable, we were able to lower our insurance bill significantly. When it came to the Chevrolet, the finance company was willing to accept the payment from the insurance company, apply it to the balance, which reduced it by about 60%. They told us that they will refinance the remainder over the same terms, dramatically lowering our payment.
It gets even better. As a result of everything that’s happened, we may be able to have the Malibu fully paid off by next March instead of in 2023, which will allow us to lower our insurance premium even more.
So, while the hail was frustrating, and dealing with the insurance claims wasn’t exactly fun, and driving across Dallas-Fort Worth twice a day because we had one car was tiring, there was a blessing. Because of the hail, our bills are going down.
It’s like God allowed the van to deteriorate, then had us step out in faith and get a payment we didn’t think we could afford. Then God sent hail to wreck our cars. But he did this all so we would have a reliable vehicle and lower bills.
Oh, the Malibu gets far better gas mileage than the van ever did, so that’s even more savings.
Thank you, Jesus, for sending the hail. While we didn’t see it at first, we can now see how you are blessing us through adversity, helping us to have greater faith in you.
How has God blessed you? What hardship have you faced (or are facing) that God is actually using to bless you? How has God drawn you closer to him?
This Post Has 4 Comments
Thank you, I have the same situation and I am intent on giving it to God. I needed to hear this and I don’t believe I stumbled here by accident. God bless.
Thank you and may God bless you as you praise him in this time!
This is an awesome article and oh so true!
Thank you.