Twice this week I was held up in traffic. Both occasions were for the same reason – vehicles had caught fire and burnt out. The first was a car and I could see a family – I assumed they were a Mum and a Dad and their two small children – waiting some way back from the car. The second vehicle was a flatbed lorry and a person – presumably the driver – was taking photos of the smoking charred frame. I was glad they were alright.
Fuel systems leak and electrical failure are the top causes of a car fire. When I was a young teenager, my brother and I were visiting a small farm that had an old ‘banger’ – a small station wagon – in the shed which we could take out and go ‘bush bashing’. This is young boys – all underage drivers – roaring around paddocks, bouncing over rocks and small ditches, and taking turns driving while the others roared with excitement. Great summer fun! On this occasion there were three of us. I was in the back when I could smell petrol more and more and turned to see a small fire ‘chasing’ us, following the path we’d taken through a paddock of very dry long grass. We just got out in time before the flames rushed to the car and up it went in flames. Then you had three rather scared lads trying to stop a fire spreading by taking off their t-shirts and hitting the ground and throwing as much dirt as possible. The rural fire brigade finally put out the fire and we’d only burnt one rather large paddock resulting in a stern “you were lucky don’t do it again”. I haven’t had a car fire since!
The truth, however, is that no more car fires for me has little to do with me. True, I haven’t deliberately behaved in a way to cause a car fire but I haven’t consciously acted to prevent one either. I have relied largely on car manufacturers doing their job properly in putting all the parts of a car together. I have relied on mechanics servicing the car properly. I have been helped by good roads (in the main). For all my driving, miles on the road, breakdowns, change of cars the simple truth is that my life on the roads has gone infinitely well in comparison to problems and dangers. So much more has gone right for me than has gone wrong. Ok, car fires are a big and noticeable ‘gone wrong’ but they shouldn’t colour my perspective on cars or driving or make me more afraid. More has gone right for me than has gone wrong.
Some may say that I am privileged and haven’t had a hard life or major events crashing into my life. That is easy to say and possibly harder to assess. Our lives are what they are and yes, some people have it tougher than others and I think, if we are relatively healthy, everyone wants to live more life than less life. But the fires can come. Tough times are part of this world. And that is where we need resilience. Resilience is about recovering from troubles, the unexpected, the inevitable outcome we don’t want – and it begins with realising that God keeps this world’s seedtime and harvest and natural laws still happening, that there is far more stability and good things each day than bad – and that when something happens, we can have hope and courage to face it and keep going. Why? For Christians, the answer is in Jesus, our righteousness – “the righteous falls seven times and rises again” (Proverbs 24:16a) – who promises to be with us always and through whom God brings good out of every situation (Romans 8:28).
No one wants to be stuck on the side of the road. But those in Christ are never stuck alone!
GS