A few days ago I was running errands around town.  One block off of the main street, I was headed up a hill when I noticed an SUV parked on the shoulder, nose up the steep hill.  What struck me about the scene was that the driver of the truck had placed a rock behind one of the rear wheels to prevent the vehicle from rolling backwards down the street.  The rock itself had a couple of flat sides and was about 8″ wide and 4″ tall.

This observation started me to thinking (I know, a dangerous activity).  Did the truck’s emergency brake need repair?  Those are separate systems from the main brakes, I recalled.  Did the driver carefully select the rock and have it at hand or was its use a spur of the moment thing when he saw the rock as he exited the vehicle?  Was the rock a necessity or an extra layer of precaution?

I was reminded of the story of the fellow in a rising flood that managed to find temporary safety on the roof of his house.  A neighbor floated by on a makeshift raft and offered the man a ride to high ground.  “No thanks”, he replied, “Jesus is going to save me”.  As the water continued to rise, a policeman motored by in a boat and ordered the man down into the craft.  “Thanks all the same, but Jesus will save me, I am completely sure”.  The cop had more appreciative folks to rescue so off he went.

As the waters lapped at the man’s feet, a Coast Guard helicopter hovered overhead and dropped a lifeline for the man.  But, he slipped and was overtaken in the raging waters as he was heard to scream, “Thanks, but, no …”

So many times we expect the solution to our problems to look a particular way or come from a specific direction.   We are so sure we know what improvement is “dressed in” that we ignore the simple, down-to-earth “fixes” that are usually all around.  We think we must have a brake job, when a “rock” will keep us from rolling backwards.

Things are not always that complicated.  And, life does not usually unfold as we imagine it will.  First, look to find solutions internally … you can be a great asset to yourself.  Can you change something under your control for the better?    Almost always, even if it is just your attitude; that is a big thing!   Next, look at things in different ways … how can you use what you already have?

Frankly, there are almost always rocks around.