When The Wheels Fall Off

...with a Christmas Message from Us

“Roger, he’s telling us something is wrong!”

“No, no, he just likes my boat,” Roger responded confidently.

“No, he’s saying we need to pull over. Take the next exit,” I insisted. And good thing Roger gave in—this time. As we slowed on the off ramp, a wheel from our boat trailer passed us and turned the corner.

“Wow, God, look what happened to your boat trailer,” Roger quipped.

Our anticipated sailing day was over before it started. Instead of gliding through blue seas, we watched as our boat was towed to a repair yard. And that day helped reframe our thoughts about everything God has put in our hands.

Gifts From Above

When something entrusted to us “falls apart,” our response reveals whether we see ourselves as owners or stewards—of possessions, plans, and even our personalities. Christmas reminds us that everything we have is a gift from God, and His gifts are meant to be stewarded, not controlled.

Paul verifies our stewardship in 1 Corinthians 4:7: “What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift?” His words echoed King David thousands of years earlier: “But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!” (1 Chronicles 29:14).

When Plans Fall Apart

Having the wheels fall off your plans, your health, your marriage, or anything else you value in life is not fun. We can respond with groans, whining, and a victim mentality. But anytime the wheels fall off, you and I have another option. We can embrace peace, knowing that God’s got this. Not that everything will feel good, but He’s not surprised by anything and nothing will be wasted. His promise to His followers is that everything will work together for good (Romans 8:28).

More Than Boats and Sailing

Now, before you stop reading because this sounds too glib, too cliché, too out of touch with life where you’re living it, let me remind you that I’m human. I can’t say I enjoyed having our sailing day cancelled, nor the hit to our wallet to fix the trailer wheel. But the thought occurred to Roger and me: Maybe God had something different in mind for our day. With that thought came vigilance: What might He be inviting us to see or do? Would we miss it, whatever “it” was, by complaining too loudly? Or could we readjust our perspective and expectations to embrace whatever came out of the day?

I wish I could tell you we ended up having some kind of incredible encounter or blessing that afternoon as a result of the wheel falling off. We didn’t. But this much is true: We’ve told and retold that story for years as an example of how to respond to the hard turns of life.

Receiving God’s Gifts Well

It’s easy to talk about stewardship and good attitudes when it comes to things. It’s much more difficult—and more revealing—when the stewardship issue is us. The issue of personality stewardship is central to my book, Turning Your Inner Bullies Into Allies So You Can Love Like Jesus (to be released February 2026):

When you and I recognize our role as stewards, we can enjoy relief from responsibilities we were never meant to carry. God never intended any of us to be “self-made” people. He’s not grading us or measuring our progress as we struggle to improve ourselves. And it isn’t necessary to beat ourselves up with comparisons to anyone else. Our Father can remove the load of guilt and shame we tend to pick up with every wrong move we make. He deliberately made each of us unique for his own purposes and it’s his intention to shape us into people who more closely resemble Jesus. As stewards, we are to position ourselves so his work can proceed unhindered.

So this week, I’m reflecting on my stewardship of the ALL the gifts God has given me. Not just a boat or an RV or a sticks-and-bricks house. My possessions, my personality, the time I have left on earth, and whatever skills and talents I have—they’re all His. He’s the best gift-giver ever and that makes me pay attention to my posture of being a good gift receiver.

Peter, a stumbling, bumbling follower of Christ if there ever was one, reminds us that stewardship isn’t about more perfection on our part. It’s about growing into what God has already provided.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

And this is Peter’s conclusion about what we can do in response to God’s gifts:

In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:3-8).

May your Christmas season be filled with life and light, and may you enjoy all the gifts God has given you. And if your wheels fall off, may you remember whose wheels they are in the first place.

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