Earlier this week I had a "why me" moment worthy of a Charlie Brown cartoon. I went out riding my bike Monday morning, enjoying the ride until I hit some rough pavement. A little further down the road I noticed that I was feeling a little bit more of the road under my rear tire. Hopping off my bike I found that the tire was beginning to go flat. I was about 3 miles from home and only a couple of blocks from a gas station that thankfully had a free air hose. I thought I would try to hoof it to the gas station in the off-chance that the tire just needed air and that it wasn't popped.
I felt awkward as I walked my bike to the station, I had worn my usual riding gear sans sensible shoes. I figured I was going to take a quick spin and left the house in my crocs. It had rained the night before and of course several sections of sidewalk were missing due to construction. I almost fell a few times while traversing the muddy sections, I'm sure giving a good laugh to motorists passing by. Making it to the station & using the hose, the tire plumped up rather quickly but as I released it I noticed little air bubbles popping up from where the spokes meet the tire rim. Yep, it was popped.
Thanks to modern technology, most businesses no longer see the need or expense to maintain a public phone. The gas station didn't have one and neither did the grocery store across the parking lot. Not feeling I needed it, I neglected to bring our cellphone on my journey. What did I tell you? 3 miles from home with a flat tire & no means to call my wife to pick me up.
My mother-in-law works nearby and I thought she would have been to work by that time so I trudged to her office. Guess what? No such luck. Needless to say, I did walk my bike all the way home despite thoughts of stashing it in some woods & coming back for it with my car. I loaded up the bike, made it to work on-time(luckily) and later took it to the bike shop for repairs. While I was there, it was pointed out to me that the rear wheel was loose as well. Within 10 minutes I was up and running again with assurances that the rear wheel was tightened well and the offer to bring it back on Friday to double-check it.
What does this matter? You see on Saturday I am going on my first cycling tour, looping a total of 18 miles. If I didn't get that flat on Monday, I wouldn't have known about the loose rear wheel which could have spelled disaster on the tour.
In reality, this "why me" moment turned into a blessing. Looking through the bible there are tons of "why me" moments, the one person that really stands out is the story of Joseph. It seemed that he constantly fell into "why me" moments, but through all of those "why me" moments God used them to protect him & eventually saved him and the entire tribe of Israel.
Trust today that any "why me" moments you may be facing will eventually turn out for your good. You may not see it today or tomorrow, but trust me - you will receive the answer to your question "why me?"...
MattyV
www.iweighedmorethanjared.com
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