Nope, that’s not a typo. It’s a pretty pitiful pun to try to communicate the point of this post (isn’t that what the title is SUPPOSED to do??? Geez).
Saturday night Katie mentioned to me that she thought the rear passenger side tire on our Toyota Highlander was a little low. I asked her if that meant I needed to go and do something about it right that second, or ???? (Side Note to Husbands: DO NOT DO THAT, OKAY???? OF COURSE THAT MEANS GET UP FROM WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING AND TAKE CARE OF THE STINKIN’ TIRE!!!!!). She said, “no, but let’s just keep a check on it.” (Please go back and reread previous parenthesis). I said, “okay, I will” (again – please go back and reread the aforementioned parenthesis).
SO, yours truly went to bed – woke up Sunday morning – and needless to say here (because I am a preacher and usually don’t think about tires on Monday – Saturday, much less on Sundays!) I thought nothing of the tire. No tire issues (or further tire discussions) on Sunday meant by the time Monday rolled around – the Saturday night mention about the low tire was on my radar about the same level as eating a bowl of steamed broccoli for breakfast.
Fast-forward to 3:20 PM (the time of day Katie is headed home having picked up the boys from school) Monday afternoon. You guessed it. Phone call:
Katie: “You busy.”
Me: “Not really. What’s up?”
Katie: “That tire we talked about. . . flat.”
Me: “You’re kidding.” [What I was thinking, but thankfully didn’t say: “You mean the one YOU told me not to worry about! Good grief!!!!”]
Katie: “No. All the kids in car-line were staring, laughing, and pointing. I asked a teacher and she said it was flat as a pancake.” [What she was probably thinking but thankfully didn’t say: “You idiot! If you had gone out there like I warned you about on Saturday, you would not have threatened the reputation or the lives of your wife AND your three children. . . you lazy piece of tire rubber!”]
Me: “Where are you?”
Katie: “Headed to your office.”
Me: “Go to that tire place about 2 blocks from where you are and I will meet you there.”
To make a short story longer – Katie took the kids home in my car while I waited for the mechanics to put a new tire on the Highlander.
Lesson for me? If something needs to be done – DO IT NOW! There is no TIME like the present! Putting it off later merely puts off something you will have to dread even longer doing anyway – while possibly risking the lives of your family in the process. Proverbs 3:28 says, “Do not say to your neighbor (or wife!), ‘Go and come again, tomorrow I will give it (or check the tire)’ – when you have it with you.” Translation: DO IT NOW.
For me, this lesson needs to be learned across the board in areas of my life: husband, father, car care, tire checking, pastoring, leading, bill paying, leaf raking, blog writing, sermon prepping, book reading, phone call making . . . you get the point.
If something needs to be done, do it. Putting it off helps no one. You or those riding on the flat tire. There really is no TIRE like the present.
What have you been putting off that needs your attention? What are you waiting for?
Non-Traditional Heartburn 