Screw in the Tire of Life

It was the 5th of July. My family and I had just experienced a relaxing and exhausting day with friends at a cabin. We had a great time and I admit I felt relaxed and ready for whatever the week brought. The day started off great, kids sleeping in, we all had a nice breakfast and everything seemed great.

I went to my car, heading to work and that is when I noticed the massive screw deeply embedded in a tire.

In life we will have our ups and downs. Sometimes everything seems great and we’re happy, excited and rested. Other days we hit road bumps. Health, work, family and friends can cause problems and “screws” in the “tire of life”.

How we react to these hiccups is how what follows in life proceeds.

In the scenario with my tire having a giant screw bling, I could have reacted in many ways. Honestly, if I had a bad weekend I may very well have responded in one of these ways.

Angrily kicking the car, followed my angrily kicking myself for kicking the car and breaking a toe.

Screaming obscenities at the top of my lungs as my wide-eyed children watched from the open window. “Mommy, is Daddy saying bad words?”

Break down in sobs, crying out “Father, why hast thou forsaken me?!”

Luckily for me (and my sensitive eared children) I didn’t react in any of these ways. Instead, I sighed, called my wife and then made plans. I decided to plan my reaction, not just react. Such as in this article, I made my choice. I didn’t just swallow some inane choice.

When I arrived at work I scheduled an appointment at Discount Tire. Then, made sure the car got there, had the tire fixed (which was free, to my joy) and the problem solved.

Problems in life will always be there. We’ll never be rid of them. However, we can change the ways we react to them.

What little screws in life had left you at a near toe breaking moment?

How did you react to them?