Last week Sherri had a rough week. She ran out of gas in the parking lot of the grocery store and had to call me to get gas in her van. Two days later she locked her keys in the van at the mall and had to call me to bring the spare key. Both times these calls came at inconvenient points… and I let her know that.

Skip forward to yesterday.

After a morning of conflict over our schedules, I let her know she needed to get her act together then I left the house to go do the important work of ministry.

Then it happened.

I was leaving one meeting to go to another and couldn’t find my keys (you already know where this is going don’t you?). I finally found them… in the last place I looked… the last place I left them… on the inside of my locked car.

I desperately looked for some way in, because the thought of calling Sherri and telling her my dilemma was to much for me to bear! I had just let her know she had to get her act together and now….

Finally I broke down and called. She laughed and reminded me how I had handled her situation… and then she changed her schedule to come and unlock my car for me.

And here’s where it gets funny…

When she arrived, giggles and all, I reached into her ignition and took the keys… still determined to get to my next meeting and be about the important work of ministry.

And then I saw it… actually I didn’t see it, and that was the problem.

A while ago we loaned our car to a friend. When they brought back the spare key we did not put it back on Sherri’s key ring, instead we stuck it in the kitchen drawer… and that’s where it was… in the kitchen drawer!

Now I had to get in the van, ride all the way home with my giggling bride, get the spare key, then travel back to unlock my car. And oh, by the way, I had to cancel my ministry meeting. I suppose that was okay because by that point I wasn’t representing Jesus real well anyhow.

So what’s the point of this story? There are two:

• Always keep a spare key located somewhere on your vehicle.
• Always be nice to your spouse when their oversight inconveniences you. You never know when your oversight will inconvenience them and eating crow while canceling meetings is not so much fun.

Or in the words of Jesus, “Do for others as you would like them to do for you” (Luke 6:31).