Excuse Me While I Pull My Hair Out!

Protection.
That's the word that both Bruce and I were getting as we prayed for understanding of our latest set back. A shower of sparks coming off the back tire on the trailer we were towing had us pulling off the narrow highway this morning before we even made it into Sedro Wooley. And before we were out of the truck we could smell the burnt rubber emanating from the shredded back tire.

A flat tire is always a major pain but this is on a fully loaded heavy duty utility trailer at 6 in the morning. A chilly 32 degrees and a side street lit by Christmas Lights and stars in a dark sky welcomed us as we found a safe place to park and assess the situation. I think we were both too numb to really process much more than bewilderment over this latest mishap. First we had the brakes and 2 tires on the work truck repaired. That was a huge chunk of change not to mention a serious dent in the work progress in the shop as Bruce and his brothers worked on the pre-assembly of the storage building kit.

Already behind the 8 ball because of these delays, the guys put in a 17 hour day yesterday, prohibiting the departure to Oregon by a full day. At midnight when Bruce finally got home, he was too tired to even be frustrated. He simply fell into bed and slept heavily for 4 hours and then we got up and hurriedly dressed, ate and finished packing our personal effects into the truck cab and were on the road by 5:15.

And made it as far as Skagit County.

We unhooked the trailer and left it in front of a well lit Christmas Decorated home. Came home and went back to bed for a few hours hoping to gain fresh perspective after a nap. Bruce has called the customer in Oregon who has been understanding and gracious about the delay, I called the hotel and canceled our reservations and brought the cat back home from his boarding place. Bruce is out getting a new tire, and, a new plan.

But as we shook our heads over this latest mishap we prayed for understanding. Is this some sort of sign or message from you God about Bruce's career or about this particular job or it is just.... life?  And the sense we both got was the word 'protection'. Whether that means from a greater problem on down the road or what, we don't know but we are already so grateful for once again being safe from what could have been so much worse! A blow out on the freeway pulling a full load in the early morning traffic? Don't even like to think about that! So, again, thank you Lord for your protection and what ever else this might be trying to teach us, we do pray for clarity and wisdom. And if it's just another one of life's moments, we thank you for giving us peace so that we don't lose our cool.

the last thing either of us wants to do is follow the advice that Job's well meaning friends gave him when he faced horrendous trials. "Curse God and die" they told him! Even the first part, cursing God, is NOT an option for us. Sure we could get angry and frustrated and question this whole thing... where were you God? didn't we ask for traveling mercies and prevention of any more problems? didn't I even pray specifically to NOT have any tire troubles on this trip?So what's up with all this?

Funny, but even though these kinds of questions DO run through my mind, I refuse to dwell on them. My God has a plan for my life and it's a plan for good and not for evil. I don't think God send us calamities to rattle our cages or even to test our faith. He does watch to see how we respond in these kinds of circumstances, but I don't think He purposes these things into our lives. I just don't. I think life in this world is exactly what our sins have made it to be and the best we can hope for is to gain true peace as spoken about in Philippians.

PHILLIPPIANS 4

The Message (MSG)

 ^6-7Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.