Flat Tires

Now that spring has sprung it is time for us to engage in one of our annual traditions. My wife and I enjoy working on the landscaping around the front porch, so each year I take my truck to town and get a load of brown mulch to spread around the yard. This year we decided we wanted to raise the landscaping higher so it can be more visible from the road, so before I got the mulch I got a load of topsoil to add height.

I learned an important lesson: dirt weighs more than mulch. Much more, it turns out. Although I had been getting a “scoop” of mulch from Sanders for almost ten years without a problem, when the Bobcat dropped the scoop of topsoil into my truck the back end dropped much lower than I was expecting. The tires were rubbing against the wheel well, and I was only a couple miles from the store when one of my tires blew out.

I’m grateful that a friend saw me and helped me get the spare on, but the other rear tire was due for a similar fate. I slowly drove home, smelling burning rubber the whole way. As soon as I put the truck in park I heard the air rush out of the tire; it literally melted. At least I was home that time.

One solution to this problem would be to keep changing tires, but that is only a temporary fix. The only way to keep the tires from blowing out or melting is to get the weight off of them. Before I changed another tire I grabbed a shovel and wheelbarrow, and slowly but surely got the dirt out of the truck and into the yard. With the weight of the dirt off of the truck, I was able to get new tires on that will hopefully last a long time.

That thought reminded me of the character Christian from The Pilgrim’s Progress; he was carrying a heavy load on his back until he arrived at the cross, at which point he was able to lay his burden down. Our sin is like a ton of topsoil—it is more than we are meant to carry, and unless we get rid of it, it will continually bring us down. We look for relief from everything from programs to pills, but those are only temporary at best. At the end of the day, the dirt must be removed.

Let Jesus be like that wheelbarrow. Throw all the dirt on Him. Cast all your cares on Him. He is far better at bearing it than we are.

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28