Flat Tires

She was headed to Texas. And though her first and new grandchild is in Texas – this is not the reason she was headed to Palestine, Tx. And she was king in style. Riding in the corporate jet. This was not her first ride on the jet. Every so often, she and the team she is on heads to a partner hospital where they talk with the other teams, line up medical students residency, and just stay connected. But today, Texas would have to wait.

The plane had a flat tire. Though Google says this isn’t an extremely difficult task, it is one that takes caution. I mean, who wants to take off, or especially a landing, on a flat tire? Flying – no problem. No one cares about flat tires in flight. So 30 seconds of a 5 hour flight holds up the entire flight. 

The delay wasn’t the flat – the delay was the changing the tire out. So, Texas is no longer a destination for today – and the flight will be bumped.

We may not be flying anywhere. And we may not be delayed by a flat tire. But we have flat tires (metaphorically) that delay … life. A meeting that gets postponed. A meeting that goes long. A rip indoor jeans (in a bad place) makes you return home and change the daily wardrobe. A weather incident stops traffic. Just today, I read a blizzard closed 100 miles of a highway. A 100 miles! A simple road closure makes a journey longer. 

So what do you do when you are hit with a delay?

• Trust God. He holds time tables. He causes delays and he builds hedges to direct our path. (Read Hosea)
• God will use delays to help us trust Him more, to help us focus on something that might need our attention (Paul prevented from going one ay and led him in another – to Macedonia.
• God will use delays to remind us He is in charge – not us or our agenda. The best laid plans … (not scripture, but similar principles are there.)
• Re-evaluate … maybe wait  for the door to open (the flat to be changed) or for another door to open.

It’s Easter. I imagine the Disciples saw the cross as a flat tire – completely halting their agenda. But the cross, the ultimate flat tire for the Disciples, was the agenda.

Don’t fret. Don’t lose heart. Trust God.

Change the tire or change your direction.

……………

I found an inserting article on what happens to flat tires from planes. Most tires are guaranteed one 200 landings. They will retread tires (some up to 7 times) … scary a bit.

But tires will eventually be recycled – playground rubber and farm equipment for example.