Reinventing the Wheel

We spend a lot of time, energy, and resources “reinventing the wheel.” I see it most often in disaster recovery. Each community affected by a new disaster has to figure out how to navigate their recovery, starting from scratch. “Reinventing the wheel” is also a common occurrence in ministry, business, leadership, and even raising a family or managing a household.

Image how much further along others could be if we simply shared our wheel with them. Your story is full of experiences and lessons learned. Those experiences carry wisdom now. You can help someone in their journey by sharing portions of your own. Instead of watching someone reinvent the wheel, share the wheel you already carved and help them get further along in their journey with greater ease.

Sharing the Wheel

I carved this wheel with my own hand,
To take me through this new, strange land.
Though others had come this way before
I found no wheel so began the chore.

I toiled in silence, turned each spoke,
With hands that trembled, dreams that broke.
The lessons came, but slow and steep,
With costly wisdom bought not cheap.

But now I see, through clearer eyes,
The cost of keeping truth disguised.
If I have climbed, if I have bled,
Then let another walk instead—
Not where I fell, not where I stalled,
But past the place where I once crawled.

We build to spare, not just to show,
So others faster, farther go.
A gift not in the wheel itself,
But in the hand that offers help.

For every soul must chart their flight,
But need not build alone at night.
What grace to share, what grace to give—
The lessons learned so others live.

So here’s my wheel, not new, but true,
Worn smooth by all that I’ve come through.
Take it, friend. Make it your own.
And may you never roll alone.