When Providing For Your Wife is NOT Enough

I’m writing a lot about our time in the States, because my blog has become a scrap book of memories to us.  Soon I will catch up and switch back to stories of here in Papua.  Which I know is what most of my audience wants to hear.  Thanks for bearing with me, while we tuck these stories away for family treasures in years to come.

 

When we arrived “home” on furlough we noticed the van tires seemed worn and they were also making road noise.  Over the next several weeks I would bring up the “tire subject” from time to time to Darron.  By week three, when I mentioned the “tire subject” I was trying to be really careful to not nag. Do you know what I mean?  It’s called timing and word choice. ; ) My heart was extra concerned about the tires because in just a few short weeks I had a exceedingly long road trip to make, as a “single” Mom.  From North Carolina to Texas.  The last thing I wanted was tire trouble.  “So could we please, just get the tires taken care of prior to this trip”?

Being the sensitive caring husband, that my man is, he scored big points and purchased 4 top quality tires.  Much was on his mind, when he did this.  We crammed it into a flying visit through Chattanooga.  I even was able to have a spontaneous girl friend time with a fellow nursing class mate AND then later a co-worker while those tires were being put on.  Grateful, my heart was at peace.

The next few week and a half clicked by.  Here we were on the door step of me stepping into single Mom mode, but State side.  No sweat.  I’m in my home country.  I know the language fluently.  I know the culture.  I’ve got new tires.  I’ve got this.

The plan was to drop Darron off at the Raleigh, North Carolina airport and the boys and I would continue on to Chattanooga.  It was a  10 hour drive in total, Darron being with us for 4 of those hours.  Caringly Darron drove the first stretch of the journey, en route to the airport, so that I would be rested for the remainder of the journey.  We were approximately an hour from the airport when someone flashes us and then pulls up beside us, miming that our tire is flat.  We pull over and sure enough, the rear driver tire is 80% flat.  And that is when we discovered that our 2006_ Toyota Sienna has NO SPARE.  Great.  We’ve got 2 hours until Darrons flight leaves.  And the one thing I didn’t want to deal with is hissing a clear leak at me.

We pumped air into the tire and prayed it would hold.  We pulled over 30 minutes from the airport and it was holding.  We pull into the departure section at the airport and the tire is 85% flat.  Which made for a tense goodbye as the mission grass skirt is on and I DID NOT WANT TO WEAR IT.  Poor Darron, sensing my stress is apologizing profusely and I’m trying to be gracious and courageous.  The boys pump that tire back up and we pray that we can make it to the tire company, only 9 miles away.

We arrive……it’s 75% flat.  But we are there and they are open (It’s Sunday around noon).  My spirit deflates when they tell me it will be a 3 hour wait AND our 1 week old AWESOME new tire will have to be completely replaced at our personal expense.  WAHHHHH!!!!! 

So we made the best of it and went to a yummy Mexican restaurant and bought great tasting gum and chips (that you can’t purchase in Indonesia) at the drug store.  And tried to rejoice that it was JUST a tire.

(Sure grass skirt Mom, we can do a selfie while walking to the drug store if we have too #sortofcooperativeboys)

9 hours later we pull into our dear friends driveway.  They are already in Texas and have hidden a key for us to spend the night.  Nathaniel has a junky wheezy cough.  I knew he just needed a bronchodilator.  I knew that asthma had battled hard in the Jordan household, so I called Missy and asked her if she had some medicine Nathaniel could use.  She directed me to a nebulizer machine that I had given her when we moved overseas.  Missy commented that they had not had to use it in all the time we had been gone.  I opened the bag and there right on top was medicine that had been prescribed for Nathaniel, x years prior.  This was such a reassuring message to me at the end of a long long day.

My husband had tried his best to take care of me, but he couldn’t.  His best was not enough. We are not triple A members, but God had this all under His control.  I think he used this experience to teach me many things.  Like:  crazy things can happen in America too.  Just because you are in your passport country does not mean you will not feel stress or be put in stressful situations.  Problems are relative.  At the end of the day, what is a flat tire, new tire, extra expense, 3 hour delay?  It’s nothing!  AND sweet PERSONAL reminders that sometimes when we give it comes right back to us at the best of times.