Sunday, October 26, 2008

Do Not Drive

I am a far better driver than I am a passenger. In fact....I get car sick as a passenger, so I am the primary driver in our household. In addition to the car sickness, I have some control issues. I just simply feel safer behind the wheel. There is a darn good possibility that if I do somehow end up in the passenger seat.....and if we travel far, at some point, I will tell you how to drive. Or at a minimum, I will push my imaginary brakes and/or I may gasp outloud and scare the poo out of you and cause you to crash. It's not pretty.....so just let me drive, k?

In no other area of my life do I desire to drive. God has my road completely planned out. He knows when I am supposed to move slow, and when I need to accelerate. He has planned areas for me to stop and soak it all in, and other areas where I need to grip tight, hold on and trudge through. Since He knows all of this, it is just best that He take the wheel and that I be patient on the journey and that I fully experience every turn....even the unexpected sharp curves, and the long-straight flat roads and running out of fuel. God even has a plan at those dead ends.

Even though it can be painful, sometimes I will look back on my journey like a map. Knowing that God was in control all along, I see those curves, dead ends and straight-aways in my life and it all makes sense. Every road connected me to here. I have arrived here, and here is where I am supposed to be, for now. I love that He has always known and continues to know where I am going.

This picture of my past, present and future roads has radically changed my prayer life. Instead of praying for God to do this or do that, I've learned to pray for His direction, to keep me on His road with Him at the wheel. I'm not snoozing in the back seat. I'm fully along for the ride and seeking what my purpose is all along the way.

In my prayers over the past couple of weeks, I've been praying about some situations and simply seeking direction, solutions and remedies. Not specifically, just generally. I've been consistently engaged with Jesus in the scriptures and in private worship, and in nature. He has presented me very clearly with His direction and His solutions.......very unexpected mind you....but solutions none-the-less. I'm so thankful He is at the wheel.

2 comments:

Sarah said...

Thank you for a new perspective on God's plan for our lives. I always think of my life as a book, but I like the driving analogy. I like how you said you're not just snoozing in the backseat, but an active participant.

By the way, I'm the opposite about driving in real life. I love to be the passenger. I wish I'd been a passenger today, as a matter of fact. I backed into somebody at the library (or maybe she backed into me). Neither of us knew whose fault it was, and we were both pretty sheepish. Argh!!!

Melissa said...

YOu always have such insight that seems like it's just for me. I love how you think---I love how you allow God to guide you daily.