When You Feel "Stranded"

Today was a "bit" of an "opportunity" that made me feel "stranded", yet I was able to participate in a great lesson today. Let me give you some background.

Last Thursday, January 9th, while I was finishing off my first lesson of that day, I became violently ill with a stomach virus. It lasted until early Sunday morning. So I slept most of the time, barely having nourishment of any kind. On Saturday my kids complained of stomach aches and by Sunday my wife was feeling stomach pains. I was in distress trying to do what I could to take care of my family.

I had to run some errands though. When I returned home I heard a loud hissing from the driver-side rear tire and took it to our local Sam's Club, knowing it was the closest place opened at the moment. They didn't have the correct tire model my vehicle utilizes, yet they put on the spare and told me to contact my Dealership. On Monday, I took my wife's vehicle and went to work, while my family was at home resting. They didn't even get the severe illness I got, thankfully.

Today My wife suggested I take the car to the Honda Service Dealership before I start teaching lessons. While I was a block away from the Dealership, the first driver-side tire exploded, so I pulled into a Bank of America back parking lot. I called my wife and she came to see the "damage", with our sick daughter in the car. (The tire pic is below).

My wife had to take our sick daughter home, so I waited four hours at a local Auto Shop and a Bank of America until a tow truck came. While I waited I felt "stuck" and "stranded", not able to go anywhere. I listened to a Bible reading to calm my anxiety down, which helped a bit. Yet the biggest thing is I called and texted lots of people that I know, which made me feel less alone.

I'm so thankful for the people at the Auto Shop and Bank of America, who let me stay inside while there still is a lot of snow on the ground and the high temperature was 35 degrees Fahrenheit. They made sure I was ok, which helped. So was I literally "stranded"? No. Yet I felt it. The only times I didn't was when I called my Dad, friends, people at the Service Dealership, and the insurance company. The last two companies I called a ton of times. LOL. Judge me. Even though I felt "stranded", and "stuck", I wasn't alone.

Maybe this only makes sense, yet when I felt alone, stuck, and stranded, I was not alone because I called someone. That helped me more than anything. So pick up the phone when you feel down, depressed, sad, alone. We have people who know us so well, even if we can't be together.

Praise God for keeping me safe and everyone who helped.

What are you learning in life? This is a great reminder that we are not alone. There are so many great people around us, cheering us on. Thanks for your support. Blessings.