But within a few months, I was beginning to hear from friends interested in the auto industry that these new tyres may be alright for the city but were hopeless in the country.

It did not surprise me that before the year was out, I needed to buy new tyres. The tyre mechanic was not surprised either.

"These are useless," he said and recommended a completely different brand and design.

I agreed and then complained about the uneven wear on the tread, the grip, the handling and the lack of mileage I got out of them. "Out of interest," he asked, "How many kilometres did you get from them?"

"45,000," was my prompt reply. "What!" he exclaimed. "You have nothing to complain about. Most people only get 20,000 kilometres and you've got double. "You're lucky!" he exclaimed, with the help of some colourful adjectives. No, not lucky--just blessed by a faithful and generous God, I thought to myself. The tyre man knew who I was and concluded, "I guess you can expect it." I do not expect anything from God but have always tried to live by Matthew 6:33. God unexpectedly blessed me and I suspect, in time, I will discover many more examples of this kind of blessing.

And he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. Matthew 6:33.

Glenn Townend is president of the Western Australian Conference, based in Gosnells, Western Australia.