I was doing almost 22 miles an hour when the tire on my mountain bike blew. Not the pssssssst-flop-flop-pull-over kind of blow. I'm talking POW! Over-the-handlebars kind of blow. I thought I had been shot. A man riding his tractor near the road dove for cover because he thought I was shooting at him. Yeah right! 60 year old Ken Davis, riding a mountain bike, is involved in a drive by shooting. While recovering in the bathtub, it occurred to me that life is much like a series of blowouts. Some of them are the pssssssssst-slow-leak kind, and some of them are the POW, over-the-handlebars kind. My friend Kenn Kington and his wife, Heather, walk with their little daughter, Kennedy, through the dark valley of cancer. That's the over-the-handlebars kind. Close family friends struggle to save their marriage. POW! I stand on a Vail mountain top as new found friends memorialize their beloved father.

Real life is about psssssssst and POW blowouts and how we handle them. Life is about stopping to help others with flat tires. It's about leaning on the only source of true hope. A new office, additional staff, and new ministry opportunities pale in significance when we personally experience the love of a Savior who is there for us when we need Him most. I thank God for another banner year. I praise Him for picking up the pieces after blowouts and for allowing us the privilege to help others do the same. That is why we exist!