Last week, while we were driving down our street with our trip plan in hand, we suddenly heard a thump-bump, thump-bump, thump-bump sound coming from the rear of our car. I slowly edged my way out of the intersection in order to pull over to the side of the road so we could check out the problem.
As Will and I thought, our right rear tire had blown out and was completely flat.
Not that long ago, I would have panicked and allowed my emotions to take over as I would allow the situation to loom in front of me as a great mountain of "what will we do now?" We are living on a VERY tight budget right now and this unexpected expense is quite a challenge and when you combine that with the fact that I struggle with an anxiety issues...I've struggled a lot with not letting my emotions get the best of me.
Here's the evidence of the work that God has been doing in my thought life...
Instead of getting upset and panicking, as I have in the past, I stopped, took a deep breath and thanked God for protecting us when the blow out occurred. And an amazing, calming peace came over me.
Then I thanked Him for where it occurred. You see...we had pulled over right next to our town park/playground. While Will started unloading the trunk to get out his tools and the spare tire, I cheerfully called to the children to pile out of the backseat and go play at the park while I stayed with Will to encourage him and assist as he needed.
Again I thanked God for the provision of this happening while we have our teenage daughter with us as she volunteered to take care of her young brothers while they played so that I could be there for her Dad. Again, the peace of God showered over me.
As I helped Will finish unloading the trunk and remove the spare tire, I was so grateful that we had a spare ready to go and was in awe once again of His provision as my husband makes sure we have the things we need to be safe while driving.
While Will worked on removing the damaged tire, I silently thanked God that the wheel itself was not damaged and would not have to be replaced.
Annie was watching her younger brothers, Will was changing the tire, I didn't think I was doing much to help and asked Will how I could better assist him. He stopped and looked up at me and said, "Just having you standing with me, talking with me and encouraging me is more of a blessing and help than you will ever know." I was so surprised...I didn't feel like I was doing anything important...but I could see from the look on his face and the power of his words that what I was doing was very important.
After the tire was changed Will and I sat on the curb calmly talking about what had happened our plan of action would be to get the tire fixed. We were both so grateful that it happened when and where it did. I was in awe of how God's peace continued to be present as we had our daughter join the conversation as we explained that we would have to make some adjustments to our travel and budget plans for the rest of the month in order to replace the tire and that the other rear tire didn't look really good and would need to be replaced as soon as possible too...this included canceling the trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house for her birthday lunch that following Saturday.
She looked at us calmly and said that it made perfect sense to her that we would need to change our plans. She said that she would look at her schedule and find a different time to go down and visit them in the next couple of months. She lives with her Mom out of town and this was her final week of visitation with us for the summer.
The boys calmly came when we called them and everyone agreeably got back in the car so we could drive to town to get the tire replaced. There was no complaining or arguing or high emotions...just calm.
It was then that I was reminded of something very important...
As a stay-at-home wife and mother, sometimes its easy for us to overlook the importance of having a godly attitude and giving control of our thoughts and emotions to the Lord...trusting that He is bigger. I am in awe of the peace and calm that I was filled with where fear and panic used to flood.
I have been working on surrendering my thought and emotional life to God over the past several months. And I am in awe at how the first thoughts that filled my mind when it happened were thoughts of gratitude for our safety...instead of pure panic. I am in awe of how God filled me with His peace of mind and spirit so that I was able to calmly send our children to play on the playground and remain calmly beside my husband as his helper and encourager in this difficult situation speaking words of life and belief instead of fear and anxiety. All evidence that surrendering my thought life to him...trusting Him with the controls...is really starting to show in the way I respond.
As I watched everyone else's calm and agreeable response...I realized how much of an affect my attitude and mood have on each member of my family. There was no bickering or complaining from our children and my husband's stress level was so much less...all because I chose to trust God instead of falling into my old pattern of letting fear take over my thoughts.
There are times when I don't do this very well and my reaction can cause my husband undue stress and frustration that could be completely avoided if I stopped and trusted our situation to God instead of making a mountain out of it. It is an area that I am continuing to work on trusting that our God is bigger and can handle it better than I can!
I am so grateful that I started today with "refueling my spirit" so that I was prepared to be the help-meet my husband needed at his side and the mother that my children needed to lead them through it. On the drive to town we talked about God's amazing provision and protection in this challenging situation and how Our God is bigger than any challenge we will ever face.
I am so humbled as I see how much that me having a Godly attitude and response affected they way that my husband and children responded as well.
It is with a grateful heart, that I thank God for using this car challenge to show me the evidence of the work His is doing in my heart and mind. I am SO glad that our God is bigger than anything we will ever face! I am more committed to renewing my mind and emotions in His Word and Spirit so that He will continue to transform my anxiety issues into trust...and my reacting into responding with patience and grace!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
I have a long way to go but I am so grateful that our God is bigger!!!
Question: Do you ever have the tendency to forget that our God is bigger?
Dancing together at the foot of the Cross,
Mrs Mary Joy Pershing
Be sure to stop by:
Marriage Monday with Julie at Come Have a Peace
Make your Home Sing Mondays at Moms the Word
