Where the Rubber Meets the Road

I have to say that I consider myself an independent woman. Now don’t get me wrong, I do like having a man around to take care of those rather unpleasant chores such as oil changes, lawn maintenance, and most recently, a flat tire. I know HOW to do all of those things, but why WOULD I do them if my wonderful hubba-hubba hubby is willing to do them.
A few weeks ago Chad and I went up to the city for our anniversary for a couple of days. The weekend had gone really well. We were enjoying just spending time together alone. We had just entered the freeway from a service road when an all too familiar vibration rocked the car, and the terrible noise of a flat tire forced a roadside sabbatical from our afternoon adventures. It was a Saturday at about 3:01, exactly one minute past the time most tire shops close. I’m not exaggerating. It was exactly 3:01 when I looked at the clock!! We were exactly 93 miles from home with a 5 year old donut spare tire on which we were supposed to drive no faster than 50 mph.
What to do? What to do? While I searched the internet for a number to a tire shop with Saturday service hours, Chad dutifully exited the car and changed the offending tire. As cars whizzed past at high speeds, I thanked God for a husband who takes care of me. I somehow managed to locate one of our tire shop workers, and was directed to a sister company in the city that would honor our tire warranty. Whew! Travesty averted! We spent a romantic two and a half hours in a Firestone store and were back on the road to fine Mexican dining before making it home a few hours later than expected. All in all, I chalked it up to another unusual adventure in my life.
About a week later, Brenna Grace and I went to the local Wal-Mart to procure the needed toiletries for kid’s camp. We had spent an enjoyable day of mommy/daughter time together, reveling in the lack of testosterone to hinder our shopping adventure. As we crossed the parking lot, heading toward home, the miserably familiar “thwap, thwap, thwap” of a flat tire sent pangs of trepidation up my spine. It was after dark and it was only Brenna and I in the car. I said, “Are you kidding me?!?! Again?!?!” I stopped the car and stepped out to the realization that the SAME tire was flat that had been replaced a week prior. I fell into my “independent woman” zone and began replacing the injured tire with the donut spare, yet again. My little girl stood looking in amazement as I loosened the lug nuts and hoisted the spare into place without struggle. I giggled and told her to pay attention in driver’s education when she is in high school, seven years from now. As I was tightening the last lug nut, a young man stopped to offer his help. “Convenient,” I thought with a laugh in my belly. I thanked him and sent him on his way. We headed home and I crawled into bed even more grateful for my wonderful husband than the day before.
The following morning, or rather, later that morning I pulled into our tire shop convinced my tire warranty would not cover two flats on the same wheel in a week. I was wrong. As the gentlemen flew into action replacing the tire, I took a seat in the waiting area and flipped through a recent copy of “Family Fun”. While glancing at the advertisements in the magazine I ran across a 20% discount code for a resort we were taking our middle school Sunday school class later this summer. I made note of the discount code and finished two more magazines before I was called to the payment counter. Feeling accomplished with the day’s activities, I headed home.
Wednesday, as I conducted my weekly trip to Wal-Mart, I remembered that I needed to get a final confirmation from our church secretary, Mel, for the expenses related to our middle school Sunday school trip. During my conversation with Mel, she relayed the final cost of the hotel rooms…approximately $150 over the amount we had raised for the trip. I was so disappointed. As we ended the call, I was concerned where we were going to get the extra money, and that’s when I remembered the discount code from the magazine at the tire shop. I made a quick call to Mel with the code, hoping the hotel would honor it since we made the reservation without the code. When Mel called back with the new total, I nearly laughed aloud in the middle of the store. The final total was $15 less than the amount we raised. I wanted to do my happy dance, but decided against it since I was in a public venue.
I will now explain the seemingly irrelevant details of my story. Today I sat thinking of Psalms 37, a passage Chad called and told me I needed to read. He does that on a regular basis. I just love that about him! I was temping for our local paint and body shop today, so between calls and estimates I read the chapter in full. Verse 25 says, “…I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread.” I love that verse. My steps are ordered by God, so I am never forgotten. He always knows where I am and exactly what I need. I was sitting there just thinking of all the wonderful ways God has provided for my family and it donned on me that the discount code was yet another of his provisions. The kids had worked really hard for the fundraising and they needed that increase of rate at the hotel to be included in our earnings. If I had not had the flat tire after midnight in the Wal-Mart parking lot, I most likely would not have seen that magazine since I had cancelled my subscription at the beginning of the year. It was a magazine that belonged to the tire shop. Romans 8:28 comes to mind…”All things work together for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to His purpose.” He will even turn an inconvenient late-night flat tire into a wonderful blessing for a group of 13 young people! That’s so precious to me. He loves us so much that even the things we encounter that are unpleasant can be turned into something good…all because he thinks we are special, His beloved. So, the next time you are changing a tire after dark, cleaning up paint that your 4 year old spilled on the carpet, or sweeping up the birthday cake you dropped on the floor three hours before the party, God is very creative. His ways are not our ways, and He will show you the silver lining in every dark cloud. I just never cease to be amazed by the methods He chooses to show me that not only does He love me, but, hey, He likes me…and He likes you too!