Flat Tire Faithful

I am constantly amazed at God's goodness and faithfulness. I notice it in the little things of life, but also in the big things. This weekend, I felt it in a flat tire. You may be asking how I can see God's goodness and faithfulness in such a dilemma. Please indulge me in telling my story.

On Sunday, my niece Lisa and I were leaving Columbus to go to Lafayette. It was late in the afternoon and we had not had lunch. We decided on Arby's at the Outlet Mall even though it was just past the I65 ramp on US 31. There was a bit of traffic backed up on US31 to turn into the mall and it took several minutes to even enter the Arby's parking lot. I was a little sleepy, a lot hungry and beginning to get cranky.

I did what all of us are prone to do. I started to complain when I was made to wait only a short time to place my order at the drive thru. Then I really broke out the sarcasm and grumbling when they took an inordinate amount of time to complete our order. When the our food finally came, I was in full blown complaint mode, because they did not have all of the items in our very simple order. UGH! To top it off, if getting into Arby's wasn't hard enough, getting out was even harder. More waiting.

Then I finally woke up and realized that God had a plan in the waiting. I turned to my niece and said "You know, God's timing is perfect. I know I shouldn't be complaining". "We are probably avoiding some accident or other issue by being here". Little did I know what God really had in store.

I finally began to relax and when it was my turn to pull into the traffic around the Outlet Mall, God gave me the wisdom to take an alternate route that saved us time and made exiting the mall a great deal easier. Relaxing and letting God have control of our time and our travel, I felt much better.

We eased on to I65 almost effortlessly. I was halfway into my sandwich and about four miles into our trip when I heard a loud looming noise. I asked my niece if she thought it was my car making the noise, but she didn't seem to think so. I could see a large pick up truck in my rear view mirror and began to think it might be the culprit. However as it passed us, I could tell this wasn't the truck. It was my car.

In a matter of mere seconds, the car began to lurch and pull to the right. The peace I had felt only moments ago, began to fade quickly. In God's grace, I was able to hit my hazard lights and guide the car carefully to the side of the road. That was the easy part actually.

In the moments that came next, I was filled with panic and yet tried to remain calm for my niece's sake. She could tell her side of the story, but I don't think I did as well as I could have done. I did let out a serious "Help us Jesus!" kind of prayer. The biggest concern for me was getting out of the car. Whew, people really drive fast and often without consideration of the people stuck on the side of the highway. A little public safety announcement: MOVE OVER when you see people on the shoulder of the highway. It is a law for a reason!

I got out to check the car and almost lost my car door to the serious wind people were creating as they whizzed passed us. Not to mention, I was wearing a dress (having just come from church and a meeting). I was seriously concerned I would have a Marilyn Monroe moment and my dress would be flying in the breeze.

Trying to keep my cool, I found that the tire was flat, in fact it was blown out. I decided on a course of action. I got back in the the passenger side of the car and asked my niece to call her father and tell him we were running behind. Then I called Troy to let him know. All the while grasping my AAA card preparing my next move. Somewhere along the way, I began praying again and felt the peace coming slowly back.

Troy instructed me not to call AAA, that he would be there shortly. I begged him not to bring the boys knowing that it was so dangerous on the shoulder of I65. He indulged me and said he would drop the boys off at his parents and be right there.

I began to unload my very full(of total unnecessary junk - in hindsight)trunk. So that the spare tire would be ready for Troy when he arrived. As I was unloading, the spare, I turned to see what appeared to be a tow truck with lights flashing on the approach. I wondered if it might be AAA and that perhaps one of the people whizzing passed me might have actually sent out an SOS on my behalf.

It didn't end up being AAA at all. It was a group of four Amity Volunteer Firefighters. They were sent by God in His faithfulness and in His perfect timing to rescue us. They had just finished fighting a fire when they saw us stranded on the side of the road and thought we could use some help.

I know that God sent them. He had a plan. He wanted me to trust Him. And though, moving forward in prayer was part of that plan, I could see that He timed this all just perfectly. The men changed the tire with expert speed, helped reload the trunk and then offered to guide me back on the highway and follow me to the next exit.

This was the greatest gift they could have offered me. Getting back on the highway especially not able to go full speed with the spare tire, would have been an even bigger nightmare than changing the tire. I was relieved. Flashing lights in my rear view mirror, I watched as they made the way for me to get back on the highway. What an awesome sight to see them shield me from the oncoming traffic. Traffic that was none to happy to be slowed down by my problems. The gracious firefighters followed me off the exit at Franklin. Making it sure that I made it to a safe place where Troy could meet me.

What a picture of God's goodness and faithfulness. Of His protection. Now when I hear the pastor say that "God goes before you and behind you". I will have a real frame of reference. The Amity Volunteer Firefighters were my example of the rear guard that the Bible speaks of in Isaiah 52:12

But you will not leave in haste
or go in flight; for the LORD will go before you,
the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

I am so blessed to serve a God that is Flat Tire Faithful. God doesn't promise all things in our life will go smoothly. There will be bumps in the road, sometimes quite literally. However, He will go before you, and behind you preparing the way. Guiding you in His perfect timing, if only you will let Him. What bumps are you complaining about? Have you considered they might be part of His perfectly timed plan?