It was only a few short hours after writing and posting Monday’s blog that I received the frantic and fuming phone call from Joel that, “My tire just blew out! It’s in shreds!”
He was on his way to pick up my mom and dad (whom we haven’t seen in over three years because they’re missionaries to South Africa) from the airport.
Joel was not happy. I was a teeny bit (to put in mildly) sad because this meant a delay in our warm, and much anticipated, family reunion. We did not hang up the phone on good terms. And I seemingly remember gritting my teeth and snarling something like, “There’s too much ‘life’ going on around here, God!”
I had to excuse myself from the children to catch my breath.
Then Joel called me back five minutes later (just enough time to inhale, exhale, and count to ten). We made amends, and then thanked God that Joel had not yet exited onto the interstate, but lost the tire right next to an auto body shop. They had no useful tools (ours just happened to be in our other car…go figure), but were very willing to help out in any way possible. We were both relieved.
Mom and Dad sat at the airport Starbucks and enjoyed a few more hours of quality time before being fully submerged into the world of Slater craziness. I was even able to finish baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies (my dad’s all-time favorite), and lovingly place them on a cute spring platter.
As you can see, no one is immune to the bumps in the road: chicken pox, endless dust bunnies and dirty bathrooms, home remodel projects, marital squabbles and blown out tires. It’s all a part of life. While I can’t say that I always take those bumps with a hearty smile on my face, I honest to goodness do try to let God carry me through even the most challenging road trips. His grace really is sufficient for me yesterday, today and tomorrow…no matter what ‘life’ decides to throw my way!
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
So true, Amy. It is important for us to seize the day – count our blessings and “roll with the punches”. Love your blogs! Lee
Oh, dear! That sure is a lot of “life”… And the funny thing is… you’ll remember the day your parents came for a visit… how could you ever forget?!!!
Much love and prayers!
[...] look like. God is always in control, and He has never let me down. When real life happens, and it does quite frequently at my house, my go-to reaction oftentimes is fear and worry. Immediately I wonder how we will pay for this, [...]