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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"The Blessings Of A Flat Tire"
August 5, 2009
We were heading down Route 460 in Virginia when Roger decided to pull
up along side of me. I was driving the lead van. He had been following me
for the past 650 miles. I thought that they wanted to race. They were all
waving their arms and I thought they were challenging us. Like a little kid, I
was ready to go.
That's when it happened. They said the look on my face was almost too
painful to bear. I looked out the window of the church van. My playful
smile disappeared as I read the hand written message that Erica was holding
against the window. It said, "Tire is low. Go slow."
It may not seem like much, but I saw that message as a harbinger of
things to come. We had just spent the last hour changing a flat tire. Erica's
message suggested that the last leg of our journey was now in jeopardy.
What's worse was the fact that even if we did make it to the mission site, I
would end up wasting a day running around replacing the two bad tires.
There are so many platitudes that come to mind at a moment like that.
The one that often gets me is "All things work together for good for those
who love the Lord." It sounds good when everything is going well. It has an
empty ring to it when you are sitting on the side of the road with a flat as
tractor trailer trucks wizz by. How could anything good come out of this?
Let me tell you the rest of the story. We made it to West Virginia that
night and my mother and father were waiting there to greet us. They came
over from Kentucky because my dad wanted to help out on the mission site
for a couple of days. Until the week before I wasn't sure if they were going
to make it. My mom is battling cancer and she never knows how she is
going to feel. Turns out this was a good week.
Mom's plan was to sit in the shade and relax as we worked. She didn't
want to be a burden but it was important for her to be there. So I asked her
to come along with me to keep me company. It had to be better than what
she was doing.
On Monday morning we spent the next six hours catching up and
chatting about life. We got to spend some quality time together. Later that
day I laughed as I thought about what had just happened. Who would have
guessed that a flat tire could end up being a blessing in disguise? God!
That's who.
Once again I was reminded that God is always at work in our lives in
unseen ways. We may not always understand what is happening and why,
but when we trust the Lord and follow Him, good things come. All things
really do work together for the good of those who love Him. If you don't
believe me I have the flat tire to prove it.
God bless. See you in Church. Cal.
August 5, 2009
We were heading down Route 460 in Virginia when Roger decided to pull
up along side of me. I was driving the lead van. He had been following me
for the past 650 miles. I thought that they wanted to race. They were all
waving their arms and I thought they were challenging us. Like a little kid, I
was ready to go.
That's when it happened. They said the look on my face was almost too
painful to bear. I looked out the window of the church van. My playful
smile disappeared as I read the hand written message that Erica was holding
against the window. It said, "Tire is low. Go slow."
It may not seem like much, but I saw that message as a harbinger of
things to come. We had just spent the last hour changing a flat tire. Erica's
message suggested that the last leg of our journey was now in jeopardy.
What's worse was the fact that even if we did make it to the mission site, I
would end up wasting a day running around replacing the two bad tires.
There are so many platitudes that come to mind at a moment like that.
The one that often gets me is "All things work together for good for those
who love the Lord." It sounds good when everything is going well. It has an
empty ring to it when you are sitting on the side of the road with a flat as
tractor trailer trucks wizz by. How could anything good come out of this?
Let me tell you the rest of the story. We made it to West Virginia that
night and my mother and father were waiting there to greet us. They came
over from Kentucky because my dad wanted to help out on the mission site
for a couple of days. Until the week before I wasn't sure if they were going
to make it. My mom is battling cancer and she never knows how she is
going to feel. Turns out this was a good week.
Mom's plan was to sit in the shade and relax as we worked. She didn't
want to be a burden but it was important for her to be there. So I asked her
to come along with me to keep me company. It had to be better than what
she was doing.
On Monday morning we spent the next six hours catching up and
chatting about life. We got to spend some quality time together. Later that
day I laughed as I thought about what had just happened. Who would have
guessed that a flat tire could end up being a blessing in disguise? God!
That's who.
Once again I was reminded that God is always at work in our lives in
unseen ways. We may not always understand what is happening and why,
but when we trust the Lord and follow Him, good things come. All things
really do work together for the good of those who love Him. If you don't
believe me I have the flat tire to prove it.
God bless. See you in Church. Cal.
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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