Recently I was out on a walk. I used to go for a run, but now it is half
and half! I like walking because I see
more since I am paying more attention.
Even if you basically go the same route, you may see different
things. Or you may actually see
something you have missed on so many trips before seeing something. I am always amazed when this happens. You notice something and almost feel
embarrassed that you never noticed.
Not noticing can happen with very normal, obvious things. Sometimes they are so normal, it never occurred to you to pay attention. And sometimes, they are so normal, you may have noticed them, but never spent any time thinking about it. This just happened to me.
For some reason on today’s walk I noticed a car sitting in a driveway. I pass by that driveway and house many times a month, so I am sure the car has often been there. I think it may have been a Jeep. At any rate, it had the extra tire on the back---the kind that is inside a case-type thing that is part of the back door that swings away from the car. Many popular models have those rear spare tires like that.
Other cars have the more traditional format. The spare tire is in the trunk. That is true of my car. Nearly all these kinds of models have the
tire hidden in the trunk---underneath some kind of mat. So even when you get into the trunk, you
never actually see it. I know where my
spare tire is and I can even take it out and put it on if one of the four
regular tires goes flat.
I know these days most folks never change a tire. Many of us simply call AAA and they show up
and do it for us. That’s very nice; it
makes life easier. I remember too many
times changing tires. When you grow up
on a farm with tractors, wagons, etc., getting a flat tire was not
unusual. You just did it. So I have a skill I never use!
So the spare tire on the car sitting in the driveway
prompted my thinking. It suddenly
occurred to me that the spare tire was becoming metaphor for a fresh way of
thinking about my spiritual journey. We
all know the literal spare tire is there in case there is trouble and you might
need it for a temporary time until you get the car back on its regular
“legs.” I wondered if there were not
some version of the spare tire in our spiritual life?
What is my spare tire spiritually speaking when there is
trouble? Trouble comes in many forms in
the spiritual life. One of the most
predictable troubles for me is the “dry periods,” as Quakers talk about
them. A dry period is that time when nothing
you are doing spiritually speaking seems to have any life. You have no “water” to nurture and nourish
your soul. You may go through the
motions, but nothing happens.
Clearly, there are all kinds of spiritual trouble. Sometimes a life crisis comes along and
knocks the meaning right out of you. There
were times in my life when I truly wondered whether any of this spiritual stuff
was “real?” Was it so much gobbledygook that offered nothing when you actually
need it? Obviously, no one can prove
that it is real. It is a faith
issue. And if my faith goes flat, do I
have a spare tire?
So what constitutes a spiritual spare tire? As I thought about it, they turned out to be
very common. But then, that is not
surprising. A real spare tire usually
looks much like the flat tire it is replacing.
The only difference is the spare tire is actually functional. It is going to help until you can fix or
replace the real tire. Analogously, I
suspect the same is true for the spiritual spare tire.
I realized I have two or three dependable spare tires. Perhaps the most useful spare tire is that
friend or mentor to whom you can turn when you are spiritually flat. It might be someone you regularly see. Or it might be someone you seldom see, but
know when needed, you can always turn to him or her and effective help will
immediately be given---no questions asked.
I feel like I have one friend like this.
A couple other predictable things might be spiritual spare
tires for someone. It could be a
favorite part of the Bible. This does
not really work for me, even though John’s gospel comes close to fitting this
category. The other thing is a special
book---one that always speaks to you and brings you back to your spiritual
center. For me this would be a Quaker
classic from the 20th century, namely, Thomas Kelly’s A Testament of Devotion. I know many folks do not like this book and I
am not quite sure why it is so important for me, but it is.
Comments
Post a Comment