Well, the saga of the flat tire ended just as God was trying to show me.  I called the rental car company.  They had me drive the car to their nearest rental office which is at the local airport.  There they kept the car saying they take care of their own tires and gave me a new car.  It was that simple–no charge, no hassle, just kindness as though I’d done nothing wrong.  I think there’s a huge lesson here for many of us self-condemning souls.  I’m not useful to God when I’m condemning myself–I now see that this is a trick of Satan himself.  He’s the devious one who wants me making a mountain out of this molehill.  God doesn’t want me listening to the lies that scream in my head.  He wants me to call them what they are–lies.

Today ends a week of leisure.  Kathy and I have kept ourselves rather busy just doing a lot of sightseeing, driving through the country taking many back roads so we see just what the country off the freeways look like.  It really is a beautiful land.  It is so much different than the desert of home where plant life is scarce unless we plant and water it.  Here the plant life strangles one another there is so much of it and so much water.

Tomorrow I reenter life in its reality:  worship team in the morning, step study, quartet singing twice (once in the afternoon and then in the evening) then home.  Monday starts the work with the schools.  I didn’t come here thinking I was worn out and needing a break, but after the week is over, I do see things more clearly–steps to take at home I didn’t see before.  God has a way of using everyday as a focusing agent helping us see Him more clearly.  How much I love Him.