Tender Mercies

When I was in Springfield MO this last weekend, I got to spend extra time, because the clutch on the semi decided that it was not going to work anymore. So after spending 2 full days at the shop, and enough to buy a used car, or a generator, or ..... well you get the idea, I finally get back on the road. Simple enough, go to Laredo, TX, pick up a trailer headed for home, stop at Jacob's to help bleed the brakes on his car, and then head home.

The drive home is uneventful, until I start down Soldier Summit on Highway 6 between Price and Spanish Fork. I start to hear a little bit of noise in the drive train. Not too bad, keep on driving. Go up and down Sweetzer in Idaho, then the next mountain is up and over the Blues in Oregon. Now there is a lot of noise when on flat ground and just idling along. Into Washington, take the truck up and over White Pass. Winding, narrow, and not a place to break down. Made it home, and parked the truck for the weekend. So on Monday, I figure it's time to crawl under the truck and see where the noise is coming from.

The support bracket for the drive shaft was barely hanging on. It only takes 2 bolts, one was completely loose, the other was only hanging on by about 3 threads. I didn't know whether to be hopping mad because the mechanic didn't tighten the bolts, or happy because it was an easy fix.

Then I was very aware of how close this was to being a catastrophic accident. Several years ago I was talking to a driver who saw a truck wreck when the drive shaft came loose. It took out his airlines, and he had no brakes coming down a mountain. The driver of that truck didn't survive. That could easily have happened to me.

I remember hearing in General Conference about the Tender Mercies of the Lord. That is the overwhelming reaction that I have today. Definitely a time for reflection, and gratitude.