Its March 2012. Ariya Caterers is growing. The brand is forming. Business volume is rising. The Dodge Carravan was no more.

For every weekend delivery, I was shelling $150 minimum to U-Haul. It made no business sense. I needed a van and I needeed one STAT.

Lord….I need a van. Please help me. I begin to search. I mention it to my network, including hubby.

A brother friend of mind suggested I go to an auction site in New Hampshire. It seemed far. I would need to go with an auto-mechanic. It felt overwhelming. Then I rested. Evetytime I thought of it, I gave thanks. “Thank you Lord for my van.”

On that fateful day, I had just finished shopping at Stop and Shop. I got on Route 28 N heading towards Randolph and Boston. I still don’t remember why I took that road. Suddenly, I felt a gentle hand turn my head to the left……

“That is your van…..” I made a quick U-Turn, entered the dealershop and spoke to the sales manager.

“Sabar al-hayr…(Greetings in Arabic)”. I heard him speak Arabic. I am a polyglot. Speaking Spanish has given me deep discounts at the meat market. :). He was disarmed.

“I see the van is for sale”

Chevy 2500, 2006 model, less than 90,000 miles. It had been driven by the person who bought it. I was the second. No accidents. Clean and good to go. ” Yes my lady, what is your credit score?”

“Oh, how much is it?”

“It’s $90000.00”

Mind you…all the ones I saw online for that year had over 10,0000 miles in mileage and asking price was from $15, 000 and up.

” How about $8000 and I pay you right now….”

He was silent, I was smiling with charm…..

10 seconds…20 seconds….

” You can have it”

I opened my purse, swiped my card, got the key and van title. I cut the banks. No financing needed. I became a van owner. U-Haul lost me as a customer. It was mine. The process was smooth. The Lord was glorified. That van drives with stealth. The engine is second to none! You can go at 90mph and you won’t know. James Bond will love it.

Fast forward to 2022…I needed a truck to pull my food trailer. The God of 2012 is the God of 2022. The same, yesterday, today and forever. He did it before, He can do it again. I did not have to search far, I knew my truck was nearby. Interestingly, it was the same location. This time, the business had been sold to another auto dealer.

“Hello, is that RAM truck for sale?”

“Yes but you have to be quick….what is your credit score?”

I smugged and said with confidence: “760”

He sat down and offered me a seat. We began the paper work for the auto loan. TamBo’s Kitchen had the structure and wherewithal to handle it. I was also trying to build business credit. Business credit and personal credit are not the same.

Long story short, I got the truck with ease. As many as are led by the spirit of God…..

Trust the Lord with your heart today. He wants to lay your path with ease. You are allowed to think…let His counsel be final.

O.E.M.A