JUNE 25, 2024
ON THE PORCH
THE WHEEL FLEW OFF
**Because He bends down to listen, I will pray as long as I have breath! Psalm 116:2
Benny and I have never been accused of being normal or having a boring existence. In fact, we’ve had others say we should be writing a book about all twists and turns our lives take. But if we did, readers would think it was fiction, so we don’t even bother.
“Baker/Smith” days, as we call them, just come with the territory. We gave our two daughter-in-loves and our son-in-love disclaimers before they married into our crazy life, but they proceeded anyway.
Yesterday was one of the craziest days we’ve had in a long time. All of our days seem to be a little nuts, but yesterday, the wheel literally fell off.
I got up at 4 a.m. to get everything done that I possibly could before the world woke up. I love to do my Bible study in those early morning hours before the phone beeps and I get distracted. No matter what time I wake, the birds are singing, and I can enjoy their praise in the stillness and quiet of the morning. I had a full day, start to finish and needed to use my time wisely. I made a list, I checked it twice, and I was determined to stick to the plan.
Unforeseen errands are a daily occurrence for me, so as things go, my phone beeped around 8 am, and I decided I could squeeze in a quick trip to Lubbock before visiting Billy around 10:00ish. I would go straight there, drop the item off, turn around, and be back in Amherst in no time. I was determined to enjoy this unexpected trip and drive time, so I turned on a podcast and headed out.
So far so good….
Living out in the country, flats are inevitable, and Sierra’s car had a flat. So, she borrowed our old Chevy while leaving her car to get her tire fixed.
As I passed the roadside park almost to Shallowater, my phone rang and Sierra said, “Mom, the wheel flew off…”
Wait…what?? It took a minute for my brain to switch gears and register what she said. She went on to explain that as she turned onto our dirt road, the back passenger wheel literally flew off, axle and all. Our truck was stuck in the middle of the dirt road in front of our neighbor’s house, and one hub was on the ground.
Sierra was shocked and shaken, but she is normally calm under pressure, so when the truck went berserk, she got it stopped and the wheel (still attached to the axle) ended up rolling around in the road. There was a rut dug into road where the pickup drug until she could stop, and a puddle of fluid gathered beneath it.
I flipped a U-turn and headed home, abandoning my errand to Lubbock. We conference-called Benny, and he started making plans on how to fix this when he got home from the fire station.
Now Sierra and I had no choice but to wait on him, so we went about our day as close to our plans as possible. But even then, it seemed the rest of the day was moment by moment chaos. I was running behind and couldn’t quite catch my tail.
Life is like that a lot of times. I rock along with my to-do list and my plan, and I have it all figured out. I think everything is fine, then “BAM!” — there goes the wheel. In these moments, I am left in the middle of the road with parts dragging and trying to figure out where to go from here. We’ve had a lot of “left-in-the-middle-of-the-road” moments recently, unexpected turns and twists we never saw coming, and I am ashamed to say that my first cry was not to my Father, it was announcing a pity party.
Instead of immediately calling out to God (like Sierra called her daddy), I paste on a smile, and try to resume business as usual, leaving the chaos sitting in the middle of the road and wondering what to do next.
** I will answer them before they even call to Me. While they are still talking about their needs, I will go ahead and answer their prayers! Isaiah 65:24
The moment we spoke to Benny, he took the burden of getting the truck home on himself. It was no longer our load to carry.
**In You, LORD my God, I put my trust. Psalm 25:1
God’s word says that He listens to us, He bends to hear us, and He answers our call. Every. Single. Time. When life happens and our wheels come off, He stands ready to take control of the situation. He is more than capable and more than willing to take our burdens upon Himself, but we must relinquish our control and trust Him to take care of us.
**Wait for the LORD, be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalm 27:14
Then we wait. God always answers in His perfect way and His perfect timing. He is never too early and never too late. I might not always like His answer in the moment, but the more I cry out to Him, the more I must trust that He knows best.
As God always does, He took care of this situation for us. Later in the morning my phone rang again. This time, the caller ID identified a gentleman we’d known a long time. I knew he’d seen the pickup in the middle of the road. First, he asked if everyone was okay, then he kindly offered to tow it the half mile to our house. His family had a homemade dolly just for that purpose. They dropped everything they were doing to help with our chaos. Yesterday evening when I got home from lunch with a friend and Benny pulled into the drive from the station, the pickup was waiting on our land, with that fallen hub on a concrete block.
While we planned and fretted and schemed ways to get the truck home, God already had it. He had an answer to a prayer before we even asked. I hope this never happens again. Once in a lifetime is plenty for me. It did teach me a lesson my heart needed to hear, though.
Until this gentleman called, each time Sierra and I went down our road, we had to pull into the grass to drive around the Chevy. Unless I stop and cry out to God, the chaos in my mind and heart will sit there, and I’ll have to emotionally maneuver around it. When the wheels come off again, and they will, I pray my first call is to my heavenly Daddy.
LORD GOD, I thank You for being so good. I thank You Sierra wasn’t on a highway at a high speed, and I thank You that she is wasn’t injured. I’ve had a hard time lately watching the wheels fly off and roll around me. Each time this has happened, I’ve white knuckled the steering wheel and tried my best to just keep it between the ditches, not even slowing down. I see where pushing through and trying harder has gotten me. All my wheels are gone, and I sit in the middle of the road…stuck. So, this morning, LORD, I ask that You take my day, my schedule, my chaos, my life, my burdens, my all…and I ask that You figure out how to fix it. I’ve been swerving around the wreckage and avoiding it too long. You promise rest for the weary, so LORD, that is what I ask for. Rest. Remind me that You are only a breath away. For those who may read this who are weary and worn like I am, LORD, renew their strength. Infuse our tired souls with Your presence, Your peace that as humans we cannot understand, and Your comfort. Restore our hearts and minds and remind us that You are always just a call away, ready and willing to take the the weight of the world off our shoulders. Thank You for this lesson, LORD. May I never forget it. In Your Holy and Precious Name, Amen.
**Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him and He will do this. Psalm 37:5
GOD HELP ME by Unspoken
ON THE PORCH 