March 25, 2026
I recently took delivery of a new car, and it turned out to be more than just an exciting purchase. It became a meaningful spiritual practice.
I had to wait four months for it to arrive. Patience has never been one of my strongest virtues, but this time I made a conscious decision about how I would respond to the unknown timeline. After a three-year hiatus, Jeep brought back the Cherokee as a hybrid, and production hadn’t even begun when I placed my order in mid-November. I heard production would begin toward "the end of 2025," so imagined it might be my Christmas present.
Nope.
Week after week, I checked the “Track My Jeep” app, and it simply read: “Ordered.”
During those first couple of weeks, I noticed my thoughts drifting toward impatience ... “Will they ever start building my car?” But then something shifted. I chose to approach the experience as an adventure, gently affirming, It’s coming. Enjoy this moment of joyful anticipation. And something remarkable happened. I believed it! I wasn’t disappointed when the status didn’t change. I trusted the process. It's coming.
Then one day in January, it read: “In Production.” Two weeks later: “Built.” I found myself watching each update with excitement rather than impatience. When it finally changed to “Shipped,” I knew it had a long journey from Toluca, Mexico to Virginia Beach, but I felt calm. Instead of worrying, I began preparing for its arrival. At no point did I fear that something would go wrong. I simply trusted.
I took delivery two days before my birthday this month. When I arrived, the dealership surprised me with a big, red bow on the car, a happy birthday balloon, and a front seat filled with purple balloons. It was joyful, playful, and perfectly timed.
This lighthearted experience became a powerful reminder of how I can move through life with faith, curiosity, acceptance, and non-attachment to outcomes. When something more emotionally charged arises, I now have a living example of how it feels to trust the unfolding. It also brought to mind the way we understand Lent in Unity. Rather than a season of sacrifice or deprivation, Lent becomes a time of conscious release and spiritual renewal ... a sacred journey of letting go of what no longer serves us and awakening more fully to the presence of the Divine within. In my case, I was releasing impatience and the habit of worrying about what might go wrong. Instead, I practiced trust - trust that all was unfolding in divine order, even when I couldn’t yet see the evidence.
Perhaps it sounds simple, but for me it was deeply freeing. I discovered a new way to love the present moment exactly as it is. This was, without question, the most enjoyable car-buying experience I’ve ever had. Along the way, I received the unexpected gift of self-awareness ... observing my thoughts and responses without judgment.
And yes, I’m thoroughly enjoying that new car smell and all the new technology that continues to reveal itself. But even more, I’m grateful for the journey that brought me here.
Enjoy your journey, Gail Boynton