Flat Tire
Today was Monday. Work went by quick because I had a lot to do. Nonetheless, I was really ecstatic to go home.
But of course, not three minutes into my drive, there was a rock in the road.
I didn't really think that the rock was a big deal, but apparently it was. As I drove over it, there was a loud noise underneath my car followed by the sound of air leaving my tires.
Mind you, I have very slow reaction time. This is why I'm bad at sports. I would have probably tried to avoid the rock if I could process it fast enough, but my mind told me I was too slow for that and I had to drive across it and it would be fine.
Luckily, there was a gas station right next to me and I slowly and surely made it to the back parking lot.
I was so shocked and angry and embarrassed that something like this had happened to me, and I immediately started crying. I had to take a couple of minutes to calm myself to call my dad and ask what I should do. There was no reason to panic but I was panicking like crazy.
I ended up contacting my house owner for help. I felt really sorry when he told me he had lots of work to do. I was rushing him into finishing an important report. I told him I could wait, because I would wait as long as I had to for him to finish his work comfortably.
He came around 45 minutes later and apologized for having to work late. He quickly changed the broken tire for my spare and also checked all of the air in my wheels for me.
Along with my gratitude, I felt really bad that I had taken time out of this guy's day for my troubles. This incident could have been avoided if I had reacted quickly enough to the rock.
While I am writing this, I feel frustrated that this happened to me at that time of the day. However, after I had recollected myself a few hours later, I immediately thanked God. I thanked him for watching over me, for leading me to a safe gas station in such a short distance, for introducing such a kind and thoughtful house owner, for giving me a spare tire in the back of my trunk, and for ultimately giving me an experience that will further strengthen me.
I know it's not great to think about God only in times of trouble, but I felt very thankful for today.
I'm safe. I'm home. All I need is a new tire.
Most of my shock came from the fact that I had thought it was something other than my tire that was broken. I don't know much about cars, so I thought something important at the bottom of my car fell off or broke or leaked and I was going to die blown up in my car. Then the shock came from the fact that I was embarrassed and frustrated. This shock led me to cry on and off for a couple of hours.
The remedy? Food.
I came home and cried some more, then I made some chicken that my mom had packed me with broccoli and scooped up two big spoon fulls of rice and enjoyed all of it. This immediately calmed me down.
All in all, I am thankful for God keeping me safe and surrounded by kindness-- from my thoughtful house owner to my mom's home cooking.
Thanks for reading,
Becca.
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