Excellent Driver

“God is not concerned about what is around the corner. He created the corner.” Anonymous


Recently because my Durango is in the shop I’ve been driving our little Buick back and forth to work. It works great for that but when you try to fit four or more grandkids in the backseat it gets really crowded.


This weekend as we went around a corner I heard a peep out of the one sitting near the window. Apparently as the car made its turn the entire group of grandchildren shifted with it and the one on the end got squished.


Keeping silent from the front of the car I sat there thinking about the days when I was kid. Indeed with five kids in the car it was the perfect opportunity for revenge to purposely lean into the corners in order to get the kid lucky enough to argue their way to the “window seat.” “Payback is sweet,” we always use to say.


In life we encounter journeys of many corners. Sometimes it feels like life is seeking revenge on us as we fear going around each one. “What is this?’ we think. ‘Payback for something we did?” Too often we forget that God is not concerned with the corners because He created them. We forget He’s the one in the driver’s seat who sees them coming and knows what is around each one.


Another part of our journeys as kids was to ask our parents, “How many more corners till we get to Grammy and Papa’s?” That was our measuring stick since the road to their house was full of winding curves. Mom’s answer to us was always the same, “I don’t know but we’re almost there.”


Frequently in my life I’ve asked God the same question. “How many more corners God till I get where I need to be?” His answer has always been similar to the one mom use to say, “Karen, I don’t know but you’re almost there.”


If you think about it, corners require faith in the one that is driving. Faith that they know where they are going and that they will slow down to make the corner to prevent them from driving off the edge. We need to have that kind of faith in God going into the corners of our lives. Those scary dark moments, those uncertain times, and endless travels of asking, “Are we there yet?”


Corners weren’t meant to seek revenge; they aren’t there to make us car sick in our travels. They have their purpose. They break things up, they teach us to trust. Have you ever traveled down a straight road? After awhile you find yourself almost falling asleep because of the monotony of it. Corners wake us up. They keep us alert and trusting in the one doing the driving.


Recently when I was in San Francisco for the first time in my life I got the pleasure of trying out the cable cars. Looking at the steep roads we would have to go up and down I figured it was a good thing I was in the back where I couldn’t see. By stepping on board I put my trust in the one doing the driving that he would get us where we wanted to be.


It would do us well to be content to be in the backseat letting God do the driving, let Him worry about the corners. Trusting in Him that He isn’t going around these corners just to squish us in the backseat against others traveling with us.


As much as we would like to move from point A to point B in life without any ups and downs, turns, curves, frequent stops, and breakdowns it just doesn’t work that way. We learn how to travel when we travel under the conditions of winding roads verses straight ones. Such as the lesson of trusting the one in charge as we get on board and prepare to move forward.


If I was to look back at roads long since traveled I would probably find the corners I took where I felt like I ran straight into a wall or off the edge were corners I took alone without God. I had no idea what corners my head injury at the age of twelve would take me into but God was there with me in each one. I anticipate nothing different with my breast and bone cancer journey. God is still in the driver’s seat. I still need to trust Him with every turn.

We are not God's “Hot-wheel toy” to play with, we are His passengers. Oh what an awesome thought, as an excellent driver takes care of their passessngers and God is an excellent driver. Trust Him and the corners will take care of themselves.

© 2011 Karen J Gillett @ Pencil Marks and Recipes Publishing