Articles
Whatever Happens
On our way to Graham some years ago we had a flat. It was not only flat—it was beyond repair. Our spare had a small bulge in each sidewall, but nevertheless it held up the rest of the way there and all the way back home.
What was so amazing about this little incident was that it had been 15 years or so since our last flat on the road (not counting flats at home). And to think of all the thousands of miles of flat-free travel! During the early days of the automobile it was not at all unusual to have several flats on one trip. Remembering this helped put our flat into perspective: it was no big deal. Only those who can recall the Model T days can fully appreciate how far we’ve come since “the good old days.”
But besides this, think of all the thousands upon thousands of cars and trucks we encounter in a lifetime of driving, yet many of us have never had a serious accident. And when we consider that a certain percentage of the drivers we meet are sleepy or drunk or stoned or careless, and that we may not always be totally alert ourselves, it’s a wonder indeed that we don’t have more smash-ups!
Life, with all its problems, works remarkably well for all that. Our lights, water, and phones are functional 99% of the time. Most of us have food in the frig, clothes in the closet, and a roof over our heads—and if it leaks, it does so only when it rains. “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:8 NASB).
True, there are those days when we may wreck our car or our house burns or we are robbed. But think of all the days when our car was unwrecked, our house unburned, our possessions unstolen.
And after all, life was not meant to be trouble-free, was it? A world without problems awaits us on the other side, but in the meantime we can take heart in the knowledge that whatever happens, nothing can “separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
