Deliverance is a gift!

It’s easy to take things like working vehicles for granted. We hop in the car, press on the gas and zoom, zoom! Until one day the zoom sounds more like an oom, and then an oof, until there is no noise at all other than our tears as we consider the repair bill.

I have an older vehicle and so I’ve felt my fair share of auto trouble recently. I won a “no expense paid trip” into car-lessness via a bad power train over the holidays and more recently felt the pinch of grinding brakes. But I have been particularly proud of my shiny new Michelin tires(which weren’t cheap!). They make me feel safe. And safe is important when you’re a mom transporting children and other precious family members.

So on the way home from church today when I heard a loud pop, I looked in the rearview mirror to see if we’d hit a rock. Nope. Nothing. All clear. Until the thumping and roaring started and I promptly pulled over to the side of the road feeling less than confident about the Michelin Man.

In the grand scheme of things, a flat tire is pretty insignificant. Of all the things that have happened to me over the years, this experience was one of the least traumatic, but I was no less thankful for Mitch and Nick who stopped to help free of charge thanks to my tax dollars at work via MODOT. That’s the Missouri Department of Transportation for all not living in my lovely state.

And as I stood there watching them I realized that there is something so stunningly beautiful about grace. When one is standing on the side of the road 20 miles from home and completely helpless, it’s nice to be greeted by a friendly face with a car jack and tools.

My little ones weren’t so sure, however. They had never been through that kind of experience before. My littlest guy clung to me as we waited (before the nice men showed up). I held him and reassured him that all would be well, but he wanted proof. How was he to know everything was going to be okay? We were stranded! But experience has taught me that people whose cars crap out on the highway usually don’t stay there for long. And it was only a few minutes later when the MODOT fellows pulled up with their kindly neon yellow safety gear. I smiled. How like God to send someone so quickly.

Why is it we are so quick to question our circumstances when our Father has us well in arms? Sometimes we just have to wait a few minutes. Funny how I don’t question Him when help comes so quickly!

Trust is learned over time I suppose. We fall and find that love is not the fluffy pillow we wanted but rather the strong arms fending off the hungry wolves. We hear them snarling and focus too hard on their fangs without paying the least bit of attention to the might of him who would thrash them like Hercules. Our Father is so much more than we give Him credit for.

Today I am thankful for flat tires and strong arms. I am grateful for nail scarred hands and sins I will never have to atone for. My heart is full and happy! And I am so glad to be learning the quiet, plodding way via deliverance from less than ideal circumstances. Because there is something so wonderfully delightful about the unexpected ways God lovingly chooses to reveal his grace.

On April 16, 2017   /   The Journey   /   Leave a comment