A business transaction in the Third Way

For years, Adrienne De Forrest, a member of Boulder (Colo.) Mennonite Church, had driven a 1991 Subaru station wagon that now had over 250,000 miles on the odometer. The car had been reliable and the engine was strong, but some peripherals were starting to go bad due to age and weathering. Aware that she might have to replace the car sometime, she researched dealers’ prices for used cars and put away enough money to cover the cost if it came to that.

It came to that but not in the expected way of paying money to a used-car dealer.

Last Jan. 24, Adrienne’s old Subaru’s catalytic converter and half the exhaust system broke away from the bottom of the car to drag on the pavement. Since she was near her Subaru shop, she was able to coast over to the garage for an estimate on repairs.

The bad news was that the repairs would be costly.

Not wanting to make a snap decision on whether to repair or sell her car, she went out to the shop’s waiting area to pray for guidance. While she prayed, a woman came in and sat down next to her. The woman told Adrienne that she was there to sell her deceased mother’s Subaru but that she was at the mercy of the shop because of a sight disability that caused her to be unable to drive elsewhere. They wouldn’t agree to her asking price, but she needed that amount desperately. She jokingly asked her listener if by any chance she wanted to buy a newer model Subaru in perfect condition with only 56,000 miles on it, all for a good price.

Adrienne’s dilemma was solved right then and there. The price was so good, in fact, that she paid the woman more than her asking price, and they parted as good friends.

Adrienne wanted to make peace with her Subaru repair shop, since their sale had been lost right under the wide-eyed gazes of the shop owner, the kindly salesman and all the shop workers. She agreed to pay what the sales commission would have been, with half going to the salesman and the other half going to take all the shop workers out to lunch.

Her final task was to take care of her old Subaru wagon with the broken exhaust still sitting on the lot. While she and the salesman talked, a young man who had been hovering nearby approached them, saying he was there to find a car for his girlfriend. She desperately needed an inexpensive car, she preferred a Subaru wagon, and he was a welder by trade, so he could fix the exhaust system himself.

When the young man’s girlfriend arrived with two babies in her arms, Adrienne knew to simply give her the old station wagon. The full amount she had paid so far was still slightly under the amount she had originally put away, and the synchronicity that had allowed for several people’s needs to be met so easily was just too directed to ignore.

Adrienne went home that evening delighted, for on this day a small amount of wealth had been fairly distributed, and those in need had all been satisfied. The radical, Third Way teachings of Jesus Christ had proved not only inspiring in theory but workable in the world. Maybe this was just a small business transaction, but couldn’t the principles work on any scale?

Adrienne’s new car is a 1999 AWD Subaru Legacy, 30-Year Anniversary Model metallic sandstone paint with black leather interior, a sun roof, a CD player, new tires and a shiny 56,000-mile engine.

Marilyn Miller is a member of Boulder (Colo.) Mennonite Church.