Iron Rose Sister Ministries

My first car was a 1986 Chevy Nova. But the first time I drove it, it still belonged to my grandparents, and my lack of experience was quite evident.
My granddad likes to remind me of that day and how I punched the accelerator, such that the engine pinged a bit, hesitant to smoothly go the speed I desired. The engine’s hesitancy matched my own.
Mom warned her dad that I might need to practice a bit more before driving him to work in Miami, but he thought this would be a great opportunity for me.
After a few final instructions, still sitting in the driveway of their very busy street, I proceeded to back out of the driveway the wrong way. Twice. After the second time, Granddad mercifully said, “Just drive around the block.”
Before I could complete the task of driving around the block, I had already provided more evidence of my poor driving skills. It didn’t matter that I couldn’t see around the bushes at the stop sign in order to turn right, back onto their street and get going the right direction. Nope. First, I needed to come to a complete stop behind the line, and then inch forward until I could clearly see.
On the very next street, the car in front of me slowly turned into the grocery store, which meant that we were already stopped. I waved to the car in front of us, waiting to turn left into the same grocery store, but was quickly chastised for doing that. Torn between what I had already indicated to the other driver and what I was hearing from the passenger seat, a game of chicken ensued, pinging the engine as I tried to speed away from the awkward situation I was ready to leave in the past.
By this point, my mom’s tongue was probably bleeding from biting it in the back seat...
We continued a couple of miles without incident, but the toll road was ahead, and this was back in the day when all toll roads required coins. We waited our turn to toss our coins into the collection bin, and as we approached, I began rolling down the window—the manual kind, of course.
Unsure of the width of the tiny car and the distance from the toll plaza, I stopped and prayerfully tossed the coins out the window in the direction of the collection bin. Yep. You guessed it. I missed.
At least one coin rolled back under the car as my mom scrambled to find replacement coins in her purse. New coins in hand, I put the car in park, unbuckled, opened the door, and reached closer before dropping the coins straight into the bin. The green light, affirming our deposit, provided only momentary relief as the line of cars behind me grew.
Okay... Got to get out of here. Get the car in drive. Seat belt back on. Roll up the window. Try not to ping the engine.
I attempted all of these tasks at once, but my granddad was quick to point out that I needed to take care of each of the other steps before driving away.
Finally on the road again, we made it to the community college where my granddad was a professor, and were shown around the campus. After completing his tasks, it was time to head back home, and somehow, he still wanted me to drive us.
Tension crept back into my shoulders as I got behind the wheel. I backed out of the parking space in the right direction that time and we were off.
Most of the return trip went smoothly, except for the part where I had to exit the interstate and immediately cross five lanes of traffic to turn left at the next light. Each lane change was painful and disjointed. Only by the grace of God did we make it back to the house with the car and ourselves in one piece.
As I pulled back into the driveway of their house and handed back over the keys, relief flooded me as I released the weight of the keys and the burden of responsibility into his hands.
We still chuckle at the memory of my granddad’s words to my mom after we returned, “I think you’re right that she needs a little more experience.”
I did get more experience driving over the years and am grateful that my granddad was willing that first day, to put the keys in my inexperienced hands and provide what is now a hilarious memory.
What I am humbled and amazed to realize is that God does a similar thing when he gives us, his children, the keys to the kingdom. He has passed on the responsibility of spreading the gospel to us. We are called to plant seed, water, and harvest, even though it is God that brings about the growth.
So today, even if you are feeling inexperienced or incapable, know that God trusts you, in the same way that he has trusted others over the years. He places the responsibility in our hands, providing us with the opportunity to be guided by his hands and to learn from our mistakes.
I certainly learned a lot from the first driving adventure I had with my granddad—lessons that will not quickly be forgotten. And sometimes, we have to make those mistakes, trusting that God’s hand will guide, protect, and train our inexperienced hands.