Dave's Deep Thoughts

Here's Pastor Dave McDowell's weekly devotional that he sends out to members of his church. Dave is my brother and serves as the Music Minister at Stewartstown UMC in PA.



Life can be quite a ride.
Sometimes, too much of a ride.

Last week, I had the rare chance to get away.
It was the perfect opportunity to travel out of state
to visit my brother and to make plans
for an upcoming church trip.

There was only one hitch.....
The day I was leaving was the day
a construction crew was scheduled to arrive at my home.
They were excavating to pour a foundation
for a new addition being added to my home.

As I thought it through,
I decided that if I met with the crew leader
and went over the blueprints at the start of the day,
everything would be fine.
After all, I was only a cell call away.

And so I left for my destination
on a beautiful spring day.
That was till mile marker 147.........

The cell phone rang.
It was the crew leader.

I hate to tell you this,
but we hit the water line from your pump to the house.

I was 2.5 hours away from home.

I had always wanted a fountain in my front yard,
but this was not what I had envisioned.
I told him where the breaker was to turn off the pump
with the expectation that he would call me back.

mile marker 165

No news.
It is said that no news is good news.
In this case....not so much

mile marker 174

The crew leader calls back.
It looks fixable.
He is headed out to a local store to get plumbing supplies.

mile marker 285

The crew leader calls back.
The water line is repaired.

However........
it appears that when the water line was hit,
the jarring motion caused some pipes
in the crawl space of the house to spring leaks.

Water is now pouring out of those pipes underneath the house......
and it is late afternoon.
The team needs to leave.
Water is gushing everywhere.
I tell him to turn the breaker off and have a nice day. Arrgghhh!

mile marker 292

I call a friend who has plumbing skills.
He's willing to go out and see if can fix the leaks.

mile marker 110 (I am in a new state)

My friend calls me.
The problem is solved.
Everything is fine.

mile marker 150

I hear a rumble
I pull over to the shoulder of the road.
When I get out to examine,
it is what I think it is....
a flat tire.

Within seconds,
I notice a police car pulling up behind me.
I assume he is there to help me.

No.
He is there to give me a citation for speeding.

It seems that within the last few miles
the speed limit has lowered from 65 to 55,
and I didn't see it.

I admit to the officer that I had not seen the sign.
He glances at my car and admits,
that he has never issued a citation for speeding
to someone who has a flat tire.

He chooses to leave me with a warning
He does not offer to help me with the tire.
I consider it a fair trade off.

The next time I leave on a trip,
I think I'll stay home instead.

No.
The next time I leave on a trip,
I'll do what I should do,
whether or not I am home or away.
Trust God.

After all....
it is still a beautiful spring day.
I arrive at my destination only 30 minutes later than intended.
My water problems are fixed.
I am able to change tires and arrive safely,
and I experience the compassion of a stranger
when I could have been ticketed.

Life is a road trip.
We don't know how many mile markers we will pass,
or how many states we will pass through.
What we do know is that we don't travel it alone.
And when we encounter bumps in the road,
God is there to smooth out the road....eventually.
Now enjoy your ride.

Look at the birds of the air.
They do not sow,
neither do they reap, nor gather into barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not worth much more than they?
- Matthew 6:26

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