That's Why They Call It an Accident

     
     Two things predicated today's Flat Tire Ministry Thought, first the request for social distancing from the novel COVID-19 virus, and second Spring Break from my job. The combination created the perfect opportunity for my wife, to pen a list of projects for me to complete around the house and yard. Did I say a list, that noun doesn't do justice to the Santa's wish list that she gave me to complete in the span of only one week! Alas, it was either start marking items off the list or sit in front of a television watching repeats of the 2017 Pro Bowling Championship, I chose the former!
     So, this aforementioned "list" included things like decluttering, cleaning up, painting, landscaping, and at the tip top of the list was pressure washing the house. Now that one was kind of like knowing you need to go get a shot from the doctor because it will make you better afterwards, but just thinking about actually going to the doctor to get the shot kind of makes you cringe. So, that's the one I figured I would tackle first. Knock down the giant and everything else would pale in comparison. The areas of the house that could be reached from ground level were easy, it takes time and patience to assure you hit each strand of siding completely, but the tell-tale signs are readily available should you miss a spot. The challenge, which inadvertently provides our thought for this week came when I had to start climbing the extension ladder to reach the upper sections of the house and roof line.
     It's not that I have a fear of heights, I just don't like the wobbly feeling I get in my legs and knees when I'm around 30 feet off the ground. I don't think it is the fear of the 30 feet, but more the fear of what would happen should I fall that same 30 feet. I mean what's there to worry about, I was being supported by two aluminum poles with hand over feet rails and two little hooks that assured me the ladder was securely set in place? Add to that the fact that I was stretching up to reach those areas that my ladder just wasn't going to take me to, and out to hopefully avoid having to climb down and up again just to get an area that would only take a few small waves of the pressure washing wand. That's when today's FTM hit me. I don't think anyone climbs a ladder planning to fall off, yet statistics and research would tell us that a certain number of people on ladders fall each day. We can expand on that and find that not too many of us get into our cars and think about the possibility that today we may be on the receiving end of a car rear ending us or us rear ending a someone else's car. Riding a bike, taking a walk, taking the steps, going downstairs to grab a bite, none of those actions evoke thoughts of fear that today will be the day that_____, but for somebody out there falling down, tripping, or just being in the wrong place at the right time slaps us right in the face. We don't plan on negative things happening to us, that's why they call it an accident.
     Are you prepared in case an accident happens to you today? I mean where was my guarantee that I would scurry up and down that ladder as many times as I did and lean out as far as I did, and not have a heightened chance to be part of a statistic about people falling off ladders. If I had a crystal ball which told me that if I climbed that ladder on a particular day I would fall off, then I don't think I would be near that ladder on that day. Life's not like that though. We don't have accident insurance, and we definitely don't have a promise of a tomorrow, yet most of us live life like we have nothing to fear. Someone else falls off the ladder not me, right?
     Not trying to invoke fear, but actually think we all could be doing a little more on the front end of those accidents before they ever happen. Being prepared for an accident means doing all the prep work to provide the safest conditions before you start your day. With my ladder example I need to check the ladder for faults, assure the area is level where the ladder will stand, and then I must assure that the ladder is angled properly for the safest conditions. Even with the proper preparation, accidents happen. If we knew they were going to happen they wouldn't be called accidents.
     Each day we live is a gift. Each day we live there is the possibility of an accident happening to us. Not trying to be a defeatist about this, we can't sit down in a chair and fear doing anything because of a possible accident happening. Instead, we live each day confident that the One that made the day, has a plan for you today and every other day that we are given to live, breath, work, play, and yes climb ladders. To be certain, God's plans and our plans could very well be miles apart, yet His plans are created with an ultimate goal in mind, we should live out our lives attempting to fulfill that plan. The words of God shared by the prophet Jeremiah provide us with this assurance, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11, this is where we find the strength to go about each day without the fear of accidents befalling us.
     God has a plan for your life. His plans are made to provide us with hope. We place our faith in God that He will protect us and carry us through each day. Yet at times accidents still happen. Why? For those that place their trust in God, you get to the place where God's plan is what matters. None of us wants to die, yet it's safe to say all of us are going to at some point. Just the facts. If you don't have your house in order then maybe it's time to do so. Trusting in the One that made you doesn't provide you with a life insurance policy, but most certainly a life "assurance" policy! "And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also." John 14:3. Accidents are going to happen and when they do we won't be expecting them, remember that's why they call them accidents. It is our responsibility to be prepared in case that accident happens today. We don't live in fear, we live with the confidence that "Greater is He who is in me, than he who is in the world." I John 4:4. Have you purchased your "assurance" policy yet? There is no better time than today! 
Prayers for you and your family!

Coach Carter