By Tanya Jolliffe
Do you remember when you were learning to drive and had an experience that still sticks in your memory like it happened yesterday? I know I do. If we think about it, most of us have an experience learning to drive that hasn’t faded away, whether it was learning to drive a car, lawn mower, or bike. While I was learning to drive, my father decided to take me out one Saturday in our manual transmission Pontiac T1000 hatchback. “It is important to learn how to drive a manual, because if you can drive that, you can drive anything,” my father reasoned. Not one to shy away from a challenge, I got in the driver’s seat, listened to his instructions, and began to put the lesson into practice. I stalled out a few times while learning to clutch and undoubtedly “ground a pound” as I learned to shift gears, just trying to get out of the driveway.
As we drove up the road and into town, I felt more and more comfortable and confident in my abilities but hadn’t needed to stop much, just once or twice on an empty country road. I was getting a feel for the clutch and shift patterns and audible shifting cues. As we got to town, Dad suggested we drive around the empty, flat fairgrounds, which allowed me to experience many successful stops and starts. My dad has always been a great teacher. He is patient, breaks things down into step-by-step instructions, and seeks frequent confirmation that you understand his instructions or corrections.
He inquired about my desire to try driving through town and out through the park. In my teenage naivety and overconfidence, I thought, why wouldn’t I feel comfortable navigating through town and to the park? Why was he even questioning if I was ready? Hadn’t he seen how well I had stopped and started without stalling or grinding? He knew what I didn’t because of my lack of experience.
Sure enough, we got out onto the busy street and stopped by a red light with people in front and behind. The light changed to green. The car in front drove off. I stalled once, twice, and a third time. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw the frustrated face of the driver behind me. We didn’t have any “New Driver. Please be Patient” stickers for our cars back then. My dad helped me focus on the task instead of the car behind me, and we were finally off. Then we hit another light, a stop sign, and another and another. Each time, I would panic inside a bit as I felt the weight of needing to perform starting from a dead stop with perfect precision or timing or risk stalling with cars behind me. I was about 50% successful as we entered the park and started the drive up the ever-climbing road.
As we drove through the park, we came to THAT stop sign. You know, the one that stops uphill? No one was behind me, but I was already concerned that someone would soon be there. I stalled multiple times as I tried to apply the right amount of pressure on the gas pedal to move forward while gently easing off the clutch. My dad made it sound simple, but as we started to roll backward, I would slam on the brake in panic. He urged me to try again, and again, and again. Each time, I would either stall or start to roll backward. With each attempt, I was moving further and further back from where I started at the stop sign.
My eyes welled up with tears of frustration. I wanted to quit, change seats, and let Dad drive me home. My dad doesn’t believe in quitting on a sour note, so there would be no switching seats in this driving lesson. My father calmed me down and provided the step-by-step corrections to get me over the hill and on our way home.
We all face challenges as we enter new seasons of life. They are often exciting yet a bit scary all at the same time, just like learning to drive a stick-shifted manual transmission car. Remember the first time you bathed a newborn? Having a parent or seasoned adult to provide us with reassurance and guidance is excellent. However, we should also remember that we have the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father has sent in Jesus’ name to teach us all things and bring to our remembrance all that Jesus taught (John 14:26) whether we have that seasoned adult by our side, or not.
We must remember that we can trust the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our understanding. In all our ways, acknowledge him, and he will make straight our paths (Proverbs 3:5-6). There will be times of panic and frustration in our lives. God knew we might not always have someone to teach or guide us in all life’s situations. That is why he provided for those occasions. Jesus teaches, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
So, as trials come and you face new experiences or deal with ongoing issues, take heart because God’s got it, and he provided you with the best teacher and guide possible to walk you through the situation and get you safely and successfully to the other side.
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