Driving Thoughts - Road Conditions May Vary

The daily rituals of living provide many opportunities for us to view life through a spiritual lens; driving is one such thing. Many years ago, I did some posts called Driving Thoughts, which resonated with so many and focused on things I've learned and applied to my life.

When I read this devotional from Sisters In Faith, I knew immediately this would provide a great spiritual application for many.

As you travel, you will encounter ever-changing weather. In some places, you will encounter problems caused by rain, but just as cars are built with windshield wipers, God will clear your vision when things get stormy. 

The Sound of Silence

We are constantly bombarded by sounds: people talking, children whining, babies crying, phones ringing, phones beeping, cars honking, wind blowing, trumpets roaring, dogs barking, and crickets chirping. Sound is everywhere - outside, inside, radio, TV and even the Internet. While some of it is good, of late I've just wanted to unplug.

My car is my sanctuary - I spend a lot of time in it so it becomes the place where I regroup and recharge. Normally the radio is turned on, but for the past month or more, I've made a conscious effort to ride in silence. In NY there was a 24 hr gospel music station - no such thing out here, so I'm sometimes forced to hear things I don't want to hear. While there is benefit to being culturally relevant, there are some things that I just don't care for. Even Christian radio can be overwhelming sometimes. So I've turned it all off and I like it.

The other day I found myself praying out loud, in my car, while driving. Who says your pray closet can't be your car?

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This silence in my car by myself, reminds me of that still small voice.

Elijah had just won his biggest victory and now his life was threatened by Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab. He was able to do what he did supernaturally, but now all of a sudden he was scared of what he thought Jezebel could do. He ran for his life. While in Beersheba, an angel ministered to him first with a cake and then with meat that was able to sustain him for 40 days.

The angel said, "Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for thee."

Finally, the angel told Elijah to go and stand before the Lord. "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. I Kings 19:11,12

In that still small voice, Elijah was given his next assignment.

Sometimes we are drained and need replenishing. Sometimes we have just defeated our greatest enemy and we are spent; and at this point our minds begin to play tricks on us. It is then we that we need to stop and hear what God is trying to tell us; hear where He's moving us to next. Elijah heard the voice after he left the cave and was in the presence of the Lord. On that day, in my car I felt as if I was in the presence of the Lord. It doesn't happen often, but the words just flowed out of me, after hearing His voice.

Take time to hear the still small voice.

......but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. I Kings 19:11,12

Have you quieted yourself lately?

Driving Thoughts - O You Fancy

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Imagine this - a young mother of three, works in corporate america, dresses nicely, and apparently does not look like she has three children. The family needs a car, and the husband was able to buy a used Volvo in good condition. Because of that Volvo, her status is now elevated. On top of everything else, folks now think she's fancy, rich and better than them. All of this because she got a used Volvo.

Sounds crazy? Well it happened and it happens and it's not that far fetched.  People make many assumptions based on the car you drive.

I live in the land of status - California, and I have noticed many more luxury vehicles on the road. That phrase "luxury vehicle" has some monetary implications and connotations. According to Wikipedia it means: "The term suggests a vehicle with higher quality equipment, better performance, more precise construction, comfort, higher design, technologically innovative modern, or features that convey an image, brand, status, or prestige, or any other 'discretionary' feature or combination of them. The term is also broad, highly variable and relative. It is a perceptual, conditional and subjective attribute that may be understood differently by different people; "what may be luxury for one may be premium for another.""

I have to caution myself not to get caught up in a person's wallet just because of the car they drive for the outside does not determine what is on the inside.

Remember, just because I drive a Benz or any luxury vehicle does not mean I'm better than you. I don't think that way and neither should you.

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5

How do you feel when you see others with things that you don't have? 

Driving Thoughts - Love in Action

We spend a lot of time in our cars, and though I don't have any empirical evidence I would venture to say that mothers in particular spend a significant amount of time behind the wheel. My mother always wanted to drive but somehow she never got her driver's license. I would say that put a real damper in her because my mom is a go getter; she likes to be up and about. I take after my mom in being a go getter, but as you know I got my driver's license and I can't imagine mothering without driving.

I have spent a significant portion of my adulthood driving my children and others to:  babysitters, daycare, school, church, games and other extra curricular activities. There was a time when most of the driving I did was for them and not for me.

At one point, I actually wished that driving was a calorie burning activity, because if you think I'm skinny now, I would be skeletal thanks to driving.


Driving with precious cargo taught me quite a few things.

They were precious so I became extra careful as I drove. When you're handling something special you tend to become very careful. So while I was never reckless, I do like to drive fast, but I often curtailed my speeds with children in the car.

I really learned to watch my words.  "Lord put a guard over my mouth" became real, as I drove with young impressionable children.

But then there's some things you can't control such as when someone suddenly cuts you off; you just don't know what will fly out of your mouth. Once you ensure everyone is OK, you can explain.

I also found myself, reaching out with my right hand to protect any one that was in the passenger seat when I had to suddenly slam on the brakes; I don't know where that came from or how much protection it offered, but I'll chalk it up to a mother's instinct. And sometimes I just like to hold the hand of whomever is in the passenger seat, savoring the short lived precious time we have.

We've also had some great conversations and dare I say life altering decisions in the confines of my car. Boys wanting to act up and play the fool had an opportunity to talk things out before they got out of my car to face their wild crazy world. Girls wondering if certain boys like them and what did I do when I was that age, were comforted knowing that they're not the first ones walking down that awkward path. I hope some of our conversations made a difference.

Though its not a calorie burner, a driving mother has an opportunity to protect, be tender, and impart wisdom. Even if she doesn't do all of these things and may even mess up a time or two, because she is mothering even as she drives, she's making a difference. She may not feel it when she's driving to another doctor's appointment, or dropping off to a game, but she is making a huge difference.

Love is patient; love is kind. Love is not jealous; is not proud; is not conceited; does not act foolishly; is not selfish; is not easily provoked to anger; keeps no record of wrongs; takes no pleasure in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. I Corinthians 13:4-7

Do you ever feel like a chauffeur as you transport your precious cargo? Do you wish you didn't have to drive so much? How would your life or your children's life be different if you didn't drive.

Driving Thoughts - Independence

I remember when the idea of driving first was embedded in my brain. It probably was walking to church for the thousandth time, or after running to catch a bus and just missing it. As a teenager driving represented independence, and I wanted that; the ability to get in my car and go anywhere of my choosing without answering to anyone; I was dreaming but this is what I wanted.

Way back then, I went to driving school and even took some lessons with my future husband. Parallel parking posed the biggest challenge so I wanted to make sure that I got that right. Nowadays, parallel parking is not a big deal; here in CA it wasn't a big focus of the test. My, how times have changed, but in Brooklyn we needed to know how to parallel park on the left and right sides of the street. The day of my road test, I was slightly nervous and the rain had  just ended. I remember my instructor appeared a little grumpy; but don't they all seem that way when you're trying to gain your independence? I splashed through a puddle but that was not considered a major infraction, and then I parallel parked - perfectly! I got my license on the first try.

I remember when a girlfriend of mine first got her license. It was a Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn and we had nothing to do, so we thought we'd drive to Flatbush Avenue and peruse some of the stores. She felt lucky in that she had her father's car for the afternoon which was no mean feat for her. She picked me up in her father's jalopy; the car was gray and huge. It was bigger than the two of us combined. Her biggest concern, which soon became mine - where would we ever find a spot to park this monstrosity? It felt good being out and about, driving and talking, but parking the car was always looming. We reached our destination, but every time we thought we saw a parking spot that big old grey jalopy wouldn't fit and Nads could not maneuver the car to get in to the spot. For most spots, I kept insisting it could fit. She would try, I would cheer, but it wouldn't fit. Finally, we found a spot. It wasn't perfect but I definitely thought she could fit.  It appeared to be quite nerve wracking for Nads, as she attempted to remember everything she learned in driving school to park that car, while not hitting anyone or anything. We laughed triumphantly once she parked the car.

We weren't Thelma and Louise but the car was just as big!

Now that I had my independence, I was afraid to use it. When I first started driving, I was deathly afraid of driving on the highway, but I did not have the patience to take local roads everywhere; that was not practical.

I'm going down memory lane again.

I'm a newlywed and we are a one car household. I tried using public transportation in suburbia, but what would normally take 20 minutes driving took 2 hours.  I was pregnant with my first child, and I thought this is for the birds, I have my license, I can drive. So a friend of ours was selling a car but she lived in Queens. At the time we lived in Long Island and we were about an hour's drive away from Queens. The plan was that we would go to her house get the car and I would follow my husband back home on as many local roads as possible. Realistically there was no way to do this, but that was the plan. My poor husband (this is one of the ways I know that he loves me), he drove so slowly that day so that I could keep up with him. And at one point I had to merge and nearly got us killed. I can laugh now but it was very nerve wracking then. One day I told myself something along the lines of, "All of these other people are out there driving and merging and changing lanes, why can't you?" "Don't be nervous, just remember what you learned."  The first time I did it, somebody blew their horn at me. I guess I cut them off. I made a mental note never to do that again, and I've been good ever since.

In terms of independence, driving has turned out to be everything I thought it would be and then some. As I drove out of the local parking lot, I smiled thinking about how far I've come.

I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free. Psalm 119:32

Do you remember when you got your driver's license? Did you get it on the first try? Why was it important for you to learn to drive? Supposed you had never learn to drive, how different would your life be?

Rear Ended

Here I am sitting, minding my business and all of a sudden I feel rather large impact from the back of my car.

We were on our way to the airport (again) at 5:15 in the morning. At this time of day, there's no traffic and traffic was moving well.  Let me preface this by saying that I live in LA and there's always traffic on the 405 - always. My daughter's flight was scheduled to leave at 7:40 am; because the ultimate destination was overseas we had to arrive two hours before the flight. We were aiming for 5:40 or thereabouts. Traffic was moving well and then all of a sudden it wasn't. We were at a dead stop for a full 5 minutes.  It was strange because no one could see what was causing the holdup. After 5 minutes traffic started to move again, but then stopped suddenly - and this is when it happened.  I stopped with sufficient space in front of me.  Then I heard and felt BANG. I screamed - then I stopped when I realized I was OK though I had banged my head very hard on the head rest. This all took place in the HOV lane. Now traffic was at a real stand still and this time the reason was clear - someone had rear ended another driver.

I put my hazard lights and got out of the car.  I went to the car behind me - the driver of that vehicle said he was OK, but that the car behind him had hit him and then he hit me.  So I went to the third car - she was fine physically it appeared but frazzled; the front of her car looked like an accordion.

The cop came - he asked if I was fine, I said something to effect of I'm fine but he hit me.  He then responded calm down, which I thought was odd as I was far from not being calm.  I smiled and tried to tell him I was on my way to the airport but he wouldn't let me speak.  I found all of this odd.  Since I was in the front he eventually said, he would halt traffic and direct us to the shoulder where we could pull over.  A little frazzled and slightly annoyed, I followed him.  After determining that everyone was fine in my car, I really didn't want my daughter to miss her flight.

Once we were on the shoulder, I noticed the cop talking to the second and third drivers.  I tried to stay "calm" as I was instructed and called my husband.  He said I needed to let the cop know I had a time constraint, be aggressive.  Now if anyone knows me, you know I know how to be aggressive.  I said he's ignoring me.  He said do the weeping damsel thing but let him know you're pressed for time. OK.

I noticed that the second driver was able to leave. I got out the car and told the cop I had a time constraint and I'm trying to get to the airport, what do I need to do. At this point he became very helpful. The third driver had gotten the second driver's information, so I was able to exchange information with her. I wasn't hurt and the cop was there, so I left. I told the cop to have a nice day.

I got to the airport around 6:15 - my daughter was able to check in and made her flight.

I have no idea why this happened.  Getting rear ended on the 405 seems to be a rite of passage for living in California. I am grateful for the way everything transpired and that no one was hurt. And if God was trying to get my attention, He sure did by having me bumped from behind.

Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth." Hosea 6:3
How has God gotten your attention lately?