Driving lessons for the road and beyond

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A friend encouraged me today.  (How important that is!  If you have given thanks for someone or thought positively about someone you love- share it with them!  It’s like a cup of water along a marathon – so needed.)

Reflecting on her words my thoughts started spinning…wholeheartedly, running a race with endurance, not giving up, keeping our eyes on Jesus the author (the source) and perfecter (the editor) of our faith.

Which took me to driving.  I live in the Motor City, with a Car Guy.  It’s always going to be about driving folks.

This idea of keeping my eyes on Jesus.  This is key.  This is how we keep going where we should be going.  How do I know this?  Driving.

In drivers’ education, when I was learning how to handle a monster of a machine, I was taught to look ahead in a curve or turn, because my hands would steer where my eyes were looking.

I tried it and it was like magic!  I didn’t have to guess how much to turn the steering wheel at every point in the curve, if I kept my eyes on the road ahead, my hands steered me there almost without thinking!

Of course the alternative is also true: if I look away from the road *shocking* my hands steer me the direction my eyes are looking.  (Thank you rumble strips.)

Keep my eyes on Jesus.  Then I will walk toward him.

And then there’s the Michigan left.  I love the Michigan left, it is such a good life analogy!

In Michigan, where we have a lot of large multi lane roads with boulevards, you cannot just turn left in any given intersection.  Frequently, if you want to go left, you must first turn right.

That’s right.  To get to where you want to be you must first turn away from it, completely, go in the exact opposite direction.  Then, after a bit, you will be able to turn back to your intended destination.

Anyone who wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me (Jesus) will find it.

Then, of course, there is the idea of speed, and the physics principal: the faster you go the longer it will take you to stop.  That’s really important at night.  My driver’s ed teacher repeated again and again that we should not overdrive our headlights.

“Overdriving your headlights means not being able to stop inside the illuminated area ahead. It is difficult to judge other vehicles’ speeds and distances at night. Do not overdrive your headlights—it creates a blind ‘crash area’ in front of your vehicle. You should be able to stop inside the illuminated area ahead.”  Thank you driversed.com

If God’s word is a light unto my feet, what would it mean to overdrive that light?

How we drive impacts others.  Sometimes it literally impacts others.  I have worked hard this week to not be impacted by other drivers.  Perhaps they weren’t paying attention, or made a bad judgement call, and I had to do some quick maneuvering to avoid contact.

My walk impacts others.  The author of Hebrews tells us we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. It’s true.  People are watching.  Your kids are watching.  How ya driving?

My driver’s education teacher was a man called Mr. Martin.  He was a nervous man who had a brake on the passenger side of the car. And he wasn’t afraid to use it.  I told him he was paranoid once, he vehemently denied it!  Then he asked what paranoid meant.

I called him paranoid decades before I ever attempted to teach my own kids to drive.  Like my father always says, Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you. (from Catch 22)

Well Mr. Martin, if you were afraid, it probably wasn’t paranoia, it was probably valid fear!  Teaching teens to drive is no task for the faint of heart.

But let me just say, Thanks.  Your driving lessons have come in very handy, on and off the road.

 

 

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