When You Lose A Tire, Make A Wreath

Sometimes everything seems to go wrong all at the same time. That is often true during the holiday season when pressure is high and time is short. In reality, bad things happen to us all the time. I’m no exception. When we face negative circumstances, we get a choice. We get to choose our response. We can focus on the bad or find something good. I thought I’d share a story with you of one of my Christmas “adventures.”

It was two weeks before Christmas and as usual I had too much to do. My husband Nathan had my car and my friend needed a ride, so I had to drive our 21 old truck that we use for hauling and gardening. We wanted to restore it, but like I just said, there is always too much to do.

As we were driving I heard a rattling noise and wondered what it was, but kept driving. About five miles later I thought I had a blowout. I did my best to steady the truck until I could turn the corner and get off of the main road. There was a horrible grinding sound, but we made it around the corner, and the truck jerked to a hard stop. When I got out of the truck, I realized it wasn’t a blowout at all. I was missing the tire and the rim!

A police officer stopped to make sure we were okay, and he then informed me my tire went rolling off about 70 yards back. Before he left, the officer was kind enough to go and get my tire and rim; thankfully had no damage. I was still confused. How had I missed my tire rolling off? He took a look at the truck and explained that the five bolts holding on the rim had rusted and snapped off. So that was the rattling noise I heard! This was not part of my plan for my already too busy day

I walked down to look at the 70 yards of pavement that had a deep cut where the rotor dug into the pavement. Thank God we were on a road going 40 miles per hour and not on a major highway going 65 miles per hour. it could have been disastrous at a higher speed. I called for the tow truck and called my husband who insisted on coming to me.

Here is where I got to choose my response. I decided I wasn’t going to get upset. I realized I had free roadside service with my insurance, and my husband can fix anything. Beyond that, we were alive. Something bad happened, but it wasn’t a catastrophe.

My plans to get things done on my schedule were already gone, literally thrown off. I had no control over that. What I did have control over was what I was going to do next. I stopped looked around and realized there were quite a few pine trees near where we came to a screeching halt. Where there are pine trees, there are sure to be pine cones. It was Christmastime and pine cones would make a perfect wreath. So, I grabbed the plastic bin in the back of the truck and went on a quest for perfect pine cones.

My friend looked at me as if I was crazy as I walked right into the woods. Normally, I wouldn’t have time to take a walk in the woods and look for pine cones, but today it was right in front of me and I wanted to enjoy it. I realized my friend was still staring at me, so I stopped and told her we had two options: We could sit in the truck and complain about our boredom, frustration, and how this was going to cost me money to repair the truck, or we could enjoy what was right in front of us and make a wreath.

Philippians 4:8 tells us: “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things”

That day, I chose to live out that verse. First, I had to face the truth: my truck was missing a tire and a rim, and I was not going to accomplish what I wanted to when I wanted to that day. Facing the truth isn’t always easy, but in order to change our responses to negative circumstances, we must first acknowledge the truth.

Next, I chose to focus on the good things. The truck could be fixed and no one was hurt. Now, I had to take it one step farther. I had to choose what to do when my day was turned upside down. I realized I wanted to make a wreath, but I never have time for a walk in the woods to collect pine cones. Now here I was surrounded by pine trees and I had plenty of time for a walk. My original plan for the day was gone, but a new plan was right in front of me.

Try to find ways to make a choice when negative things happen to you. Maybe you’re on your way to work and are stuck in traffic. Sitting in traffic frustrated or sitting there singing to the radio will take the same amount of time, but singing along would be more fun. Perhaps you’re sick in bed with the flu, but have more to do than you can imagine. You can lay there and worry or take advantage of having time to watch a movie or curl up with a good book.

Every day we will face things that can throw us off our peace. Don’t ignore them. Acknowledge them for what they are. Then, look for the good, and act on it. Your response can make a bad situation better, and if you lose a tire, you can always make a wreath.

 Dr. Michele

Copyright © 2013 by Michele Fleming, Ph.D.