Over the last year, we’ve been teaching my middle son, Austen, how to drive.
He is 16 years old, looking to get his driver’s license.
He’d been holding back a little bit on doing any driving until he found out some of his other friends were getting their driver’s license.
Now he’s more motivated, so we’ve been driving around the community to give him experience.
Over the weekend, we expanded, and he drove on the interstate.
I don’t know the last time that you have ridden with someone who’s learning to drive.
Add in getting on the interstate, and it becomes an exciting experience.
Driving on the interstate requires you to get up to speed quickly.
Lots of cars around you; there’s no stoplight to save you.
Nothing is going to bail you out if you make a mistake.
Sitting there in the passenger seat and watching Austen drive, I’m doing my best to be calm.
He did a great job.
Last night, though, we faced a brand-new experience.
We went to get on the interstate in a way that would give him a little bit more space forgiveness as he’s learning how to do this.
As he was getting onto the interstate, we realized we were going into the sun.
The sun is shining; it’s bright!
It’s the evening, and now he’s blinded.
However, the circumstances haven’t changed.
He has to get on the interstate safely, and he needs to follow the traffic laws.
I can’t take the wheel from him, but I can coach him through it.
I told him, “Look just in front of you so that you’re not staring directly into the sun.”
I walked him through it, but he was like, “Dad, I can’t see.”
I replied, “Calm down. Don’t be anxious, don’t be afraid. Be calm.”
I had the opportunity to be a voice of certainty and lend him my courage.
He did a great job but made me realize how often we need to borrow courage from someone else.
How do we have courage in uncertain situations?
When’s the last time you were driving into the sun in a situation that was utterly foreign to you?
Just like I was sitting next to Austen in the passenger seat while he was going through this, God is sitting right next to us, offering to coach us through unfamiliar situations.
No matter what we’re going through.
We can be scared.
We can be frightened and anxious.
Are we willing to take His coaching?
As we seek to find the good in the middle of this disruption that’s been happening in our lives, are we trying to do it alone, or are we going to stop and listen for God to guide us?
Would we have more courage in the overall situation if we stopped and listened to God and his instructions?
Or are we going to blindly run into the uncertainty without a guide or a voice to walk beside us?
Ultimately, the choice is ours.