A few weeks ago I was headed to Bowling Green. I decided to go to the bookstore and got off the Natcher Parkway at the first exist. Suddenly I realized something was wrong. Either I was on the side of a hill or one side of the vehicle was higher than the other side. After limping the truck to the side of the road, I discovered a flat tire. At first I was going to change the tire there, but traffic was buzzing by just a few feet away and I realized the danger of the situation. Lo and behold there was a Wal Mart right there, so I drove to the parking lot. Eventually I decided to have Wal Mart fix the flat. As it turned out the tire was not repairable and I had to replace it.

In, "Searching for Happiness?" by Dan King, the point is made that happy people realize the blessings of almost every situation. An example is given of Matthew Henry when his money bag was stolen. Matthew Henry was not a wealthy man so this was a really bad event in his life. However, he wrote the following,

Now that is what I call looking for the best in a bad situation.

Going back to my flat tire. It caused me to miss my destination at the time I wanted to be there. I had to wait over two hours to get another tire and it cost me over ninety dollars.

However, I got to thinking about some of the blessings. First, it was during the day and not at night. The night time could have made looking at the tire harder and more dangerous. Second, it was not on the parkway, a long way from help. If I had not decided to go to the bookstore, I would have remained on the parkway. It is one thing to have cars going by at thirty miles per hour, it is another to have them going 65 miles per hour. Third, I was right in front of a place that could help me. On the parkway I would have been miles away. Fourth, it was me and not Eli or Regena. Eli would not have had the money on hand to take care of the problem. Regena would have trouble jacking up the vehicle. Fifth, the Wal Mart had one tire that was the right size. They could have been out and I would have had to wait much longer. Sixth, I was able to wait in a nice air conditioned building, not in the hot sun. Seventh, I had a book to read on happiness. Eight, I was able to write an article about this experience. Nine, it made me sit back, relax, and enjoy the morning. You know what I mean. There are times we get so busy we hurry from one place to another and we fail to enjoy what we are doing.

The place I was to be was not that important. I eventually made it, just later then I had planned, but I got more out of watching the people and meditating on the word of God than I would have otherwise. It turned out to be a good morning.