Pothole Blessings and Flat Tire Riches

It was another hot day. In typical Memphis fashion, the sun was piercing through my windshield, and the ac in my car was struggling to keep up with it. A smoothie sounded good. As I advanced toward the drive-thru at Smoothie King, my car rocked back and forth, protesting the huge craters in the parking lot. Massive potholes! I was muttering about how ridiculous the parking lot was and complaining to myself about how they needed to repair it. Then I saw the birds. 

Feisty little sparrows were rejoicing in those potholes. The recent rain had left behind several little pockets of water, perfect little swimming pools for the birds. They were chirping excitedly, gleefully flapping and having a bird party in the water, oblivious to my consternation over the potholes. 

Jesus told us to look at the birds, and he taught life lessons from their behavior.  As I amusedly watched their antics, I saw the clash between their joyful flitting about and my grumpiness over the heat and the potholes. No wonder there are almost 300 references to birds in the Bible! They just seem like joyful creatures. The Holy Spirit nudged me to a more sunny disposition. I can choose to brood over annoyances, or I can find the hidden blessings in those same annoyances. In fact, I think God wanted so much to impress this upon me, that He gave me another example of it the following week….

I was driving by myself to Branson to meet my husband and other family for vacation. I was in high spirits, listening to some praise music and was about halfway there when I noticed my low tire pressure light was on. I was in the middle of nowhere, but I figured I would stop to check it when I reached the next town. 

I didn’t make it to the next town. Soon I felt the familiar off-balance sensation of a flat tire. Great! I’m alone in the middle of nowhere. I have a AAA membership, but it might take quite a while for a tow truck to come to this deserted stretch of the highway. I made it to the next exit and saw nothing but a gravel road in the country that led to a building. As I pulled in, I saw a large trailer and people with horses. Maybe it was a horse business of some sort, and they could let me come inside away from the heat while I waited for AAA to arrive. 

It turned out that the people with horses were also travelers, and they had just stopped to let their horses move about and get some water. The building was locked with no sign of life. The husband, wife, grandmother, and two young boys were friendly and concerned about my predicament. I assured them I would be fine as I waited for AAA to arrive. 

They would not hear of it. The kind gentleman, whom I only know as Kevin, insisted that I allow him to remove my flat and put on my spare tire. He expertly had it completed in about fifteen minutes. I was extremely grateful for his kindness toward a stranger because I would have probably waited a couple hours or more for AAA to arrive. He would not even allow me to pay him for his help!

As Kevin worked, I talked to his wife and boys, learning that the boys had qualified for national competition in rodeo riding. The boys excitedly told me about their hobby, allowing me to stroke the muzzles of their beautiful horses—such a treat for a horse-lover like me! I laughingly told them that my life goal as a child had been to become a horse trainer. Back in those days, while my friends had posters in their bedrooms of the latest heartthrob singers, my bedroom walls were plastered with horse posters. 

As we parted ways, I thanked this sweet family for their help and wished the boys well on their competition. I was smiling as I drove the ten miles to the tire shop for a new tire. I marveled about how an annoyance like a flat tire ended up being such a blessing of kindness and shared fellowship. It reminded me of the week before when my annoyance over potholes was curtailed by the happy songs of the sparrows. And I wondered…how many blessings have I missed because I was focusing on the negative instead of looking for the hidden treasures that God was giving me in the midst of those annoyances?

“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel who summons you by name,” (Isaiah 45:3). 

Riches in secret places like potholes and flat tires. And I know that He summons me by name.