From Honda to Jaguar: My Choice, His Choice

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By Pam Watts

Has God asked you to give away something you really treasure? Was it a hard decision to make since it would cause you a lot of personal hardship? Did you feel that if you didn’t do what God asked, it could change your relationship with Him forever? These are some important questions that I had to face when God asked me to give away my red Honda CRV.

In 2000, I was able to purchase my first new car. I picked it out myself and I thought it was the greatest car I had ever had. I was even able to pay cash for it. I drove it to church, went on road trips, and chauffeured my friends around. I used it for God’s work and helping others. I felt I was doing what God wanted me to do.

Then in March 2007, God told me during a church service to give my Honda away. Our Pastor, Brother Richard, who is also my younger natural brother, said that if we did what God worked of us, He would upgrade us. That night I broke into tears as I went home, realizing that the Lord was nudging me but also hoping that I was just caught up in high emotions from the church service. I couldn’t get the Honda off my mind and so I put a simple fleece before the Lord that if Richard mentioned it again the next time I went to Church, then I would know it was from God. The very next night, Brother Richard said, “There is someone here whom God has asked to give their car away.” There was no way Richard could have known that person was me even though he is my younger brother. Everyone in my family knew how dependent I was on my Honda. So when I got up and started towards the front of the church, they were shocked because I cried all the way to the altar.

Brother Richard asked to whom I was supposed to give my beloved Honda. No name came into my mind. So on Sunday morning, in the middle of the main church service, we had everyone who needed a car, had a current driver’s license, and could afford the insurance, put his or her name in a hat. A young member of our church by the name of Brandon was selected. He had sacrificed his college education for his family and could not afford to purchase a car. He had prayed for one, but never thought in a million years it could happen like this. He came forward and received the gift of the red Honda and it became a testimony to his whole family of how God answers prayer. My job at WYSIWYG is providing childcare for all the ‘cast members.’ Now my transportation to do this job was in God’s hands.

Over the next ten months, my mother, my sons and other friends picked me up for church and work. Sometimes I would step out into the cool San Francisco fog and walk to the mall or doctor. If no one was available to pick me up, I decided that God must want me to stay home. Sometimes people would come to me and say that maybe God hadn’t really wanted me to give it away, but was just testing me. I knew the real test I was going through was a test of my faith and that I had to believe that I did the right thing.

Then one cold, dark night, God woke me up and I saw Hebrews 11:27 flash on the wall. I thought to myself, “Is that a Scripture? I wonder if Chapter 11 even has 27 verses?” When I awoke that morning, I looked it up. The scripture read, “By faith Moses forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible.” (KJV) This scripture helped me more than ever to believe that I had done what God wanted me to do. Although I now had no car and could see no visible means of receiving one, I was looking for the invisible upgrade of a car that God had promised me.

Then on January 19, I attended a Red Hat Society dinner at Boulevard Cafe. They decided to celebrate my birthday, which had been on January 7th. I opened a present from my sister Victoria and saw that she had made me a purse. I picked it up and was admiring my sister’s intricate artwork on the outside (something she is famous for), when I felt an object inside and dumped it out on the table. Out came a set of car keys. I said, “Someone left their car keys in here!” The ladies in the Society said that they were my keys for the sparkling, white Jaguar that was parked in front of the restaurant. I was so excited that I burst into tears of joy, praising God for keeping His promise. I called each of my three sons to tell them the news. Titus, my middle son even drove over to the restaurant to see it. Everyone was almost as excited as I was. The next day at Church, I was ecstatic as I told everyone what had happened, crying and praising God for the miracle.

I always knew that God would answer my prayer, but I had no idea how He would do it or what kind of a car I would receive. I had waited so long that I am sure almost any kind of car would have made me happy. But to have the new car be a Jaguar really showed me that giving away the Honda was truly worth it. God actually was trying to upgrade me, not just in my means of transportation, but also in my entire life. I really believe He has an upgrade for all of us. The new faith that I have found has caused me to live and believe at a new level I never would have known, if I didn’t exchange my choice with His choice.

Pamela Watts is the oldest sister of Richard Gazowsky and is in charge of child care, especially on location shooting and has done so in Italy, France, England, Turkey and Germany.

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