Description
The Wrecked Pup
It was a life-changing moment to be sure. It was a beautiful Saturday morning. I had left home well before sunrise, bound for Afton Wyoming. I was driving a semi-truck and pulling two trailers. My loaded weight was 105,500 pounds. I left Blackfoot and went around though Soda Springs, then up past Greys Lake and over Tincup Pass.
I had just come out into Star Valley and was going into the last curve on the road before it came to a junction that would take me into Freedom. Suddenly, I looked in my right-side mirror and watched as my rear trailer (called the pup) drifted wide in the turn and caught the soft shoulder. I tried to get it back, but there was nothing I could do. The pup went down off the shoulder, plowing dirt as it slid sideways. I watched in helpless horror as it tipped—hung for just a moment—and then slammed down on its side with a great whump!
The rounded aluminum side of the trailer now caused it to careen wildly all over the road. It went from one side to the other, tearing itself apart as it went. I dared not hit the brakes to stop for fear that the trailer would jackknife and cause even greater problems. I had no choice but to coast the loaded rig to a gradual stop on the narrow two-lane country road.
When the dust finally settled, I sat there blocking most of the road with my blunder evident for all the world to see. It took two super-wreckers and most of the day in that remote location to get the trailer back on its wheels and me rolling again. The roll-over demolished the one side of the trailer, tearing large holes in the aluminum tank. It was a very expensive mess, and my fault.
In April 2021 General Conference, Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf gave a monumental message. He said:
“Because of Jesus Christ, our failures do not have to define us. They can refine us. Like a musician rehearsing scales, we can see our missteps, flaws, and sins as opportunities for greater self-awareness, deeper and more honest love for others, and refinement through repentance. If we repent, mistakes do not disqualify us. They are part of our progress. We are all infants compared to the beings of glory and grandeur we are designed to become. No mortal being advances from crawling to walking to running without frequent stumbles, bumps, and bruises. That is how we learn…. Yes, the world is in turmoil. And yes, we have weaknesses. But we do not need to hang our heads in despair, because we can trust God, we can trust His Son, Jesus Christ, and we can accept the gift of the Spirit to guide us on this path toward a life filled with joy and divine happiness.”
This concept changed my perspective. I have always been one to let my mistakes and weaknesses define me, govern me, drag me down endlessly. I now know that it is better to acknowledge the mistake, repent, and then push it behind me, forcefully if I have to, and go on. I am a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ—period!
That accident forever changed the way I drove big rigs. I learned from it. From that point forward there was no more lazy, casual driving. It was two hands on the wheel—always alert and working diligently to keep that huge rig safely, and always, between the two lines.
If your life is a wreck, get back up on your wheels and roll on. Force the foolishness of your past into the past and be happy. It is, with Christ, your right!
Source:
https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2021/10/41uchtdorf?lang=eng
