Lessons from the Road

Ok, big oops for the few that read this UNfinished post a few days ago.  
Not sure what happened there....but now it is complete.  Yikes!  


My newly licensed teenage son called me the other night as he was leaving the house.

"I think I may need to replace a tire or something." he says, calmly.

A dozen frantic mom-thoughts ran through my head but I managed to get an equally calm-ish response back to him.  In our brief conversation, I realized he probably had a flat tire.  He turned back into the house to wake his sleeping dad up for a check.

Sure enough, there was a nail inside.

Dad took the opportunity to instill some life lessons in the checking and patching of said tire.  While it may seem obvious to someone who has driven awhile, for a newbie on the road everything is a first.  In Noah's case, he has "low profile" tires - whatever that means - so it wasn't as easy to tell.

Regardless, I'm so thankful for God's protection, and that he took the time to call mom when something didn't seem quite right.  He was going to a night Lifegroup meeting on a curvy road he's never driven, in what was later a nasty thunderstorm.

As he headed back out, a little behind schedule but safe, I thought about how often we barrel down life's highway without checking first.  Or rather praying.  Instead, we just hit the road, oblivious to the dangers that may be lurking.  Taking the time to check - a prayer pit stop - can make all the difference when you're hit with a surprise around the next corner.


This past weekend, Tim and I snuck off for a mini hotel getaway and concert from tickets he'd won on a radio contest.  It was a venue I'd been to before but still needed guidance from the GPS to get me across metro-streets I'm not used to.  I knew the general direction and could basically follow the signs but felt more secure having the back-up.

Though the GPS was guiding me, Tim was in assistance mode from the passenger seat.  He knows I can sometimes get antsy if directions aren't quick enough for the twist and turns ahead.  At one point, I rejected both their suggestions and went with my gut.  My husband let out a sigh and dramatically motioned to the phone, which was also objecting to my lack of turning.

"You're going the wrong way," said Tim.

"Please make a U-turn," states Google.

And I just as dramatically motion for Tim to look up and out.  We were at our destination!

I'm not sure where either were taking me but I had the advantage of seeing where I was going and not just depending on someone else to get me there.  Sometimes, no amount of counsel can get us where we need to be if we're not focused on the road ahead.  I chuckled, remembering our Bible study discussion that same morning.

Prayer is important.  But we sometimes use it as an excuse.

"Well, let me pray on that...."

Goodness knows I'm guilty.  Often I know what I should do, what direction God is nudging me, but I lean on the brakes in hesitation.

When we know where we should go and where God wants us, we just gotta get in, buckle up and drive!  Trusting that, with God as your co-pilot, He'll never steer you wrong.