The View from the Backseat

So I climbed into the backseat, propped up on three pillows, and watched the world go by at 60 70 80? miles per hour. I looked for shapes in the clouds. I took note of the way the blue of the sky and the green of the trees make for a very pleasing palate and congratulated myself on choosing it for our nursery (our first child is a girl but I don’t care for pink).

I observed that the trucks speeding by in the opposite lanes passed us so quickly it was almost impossible to read the writing on the side. I tried not to ponder that for long. And after a little while, I fell asleep.

Amazingly enough, we arrived at our destination without any difficulty.
No accidents. No speeding tickets. No drama.

And it made me wonder.

Does God ever wish I would just hush and climb in the backseat?

How much of my time and energy is spent slamming on my own spiritual brake pedal, clutching and grasping at the things I hold so dear, begging Him to slow down, asking Him if He’s paying attention, questioning His reasoning?

Would my journey be more pleasant if I let Him take me wherever He wants, whenever He wants, however fast or slow He wants, and let Him do it without whining about His methods?

Would our relationship be sweeter if I sat with Him, chatting with Him, enjoying His presence, learning more about Him, trusting Him to get me where He wants me to go, instead of nagging and whining and second-guessing?

I don’t think He wants me to disengage completely, crawl off into the backseat and just say “whatever, Lord” in a fit of pique.

I do think it is easy to say we trust.

But so much harder to get out of the driver’s seat and sit in the passenger seat without fear.

Father, We long to rest in Your presence and love, but so often we spend our days grabbing the wheel or complaining about the path You’ve chosen for us. Help us believe-not just in our heads but in our hearts-that Your plans for us are good.

Lynn Huggins Blackburn

Lynn Huggins Blackburn has been telling herself stories since she was five and finally started writing them down. She blogs about living life at the intersection of fear and faith on her blog Out of the Boat. Lynn is a member of the Jerry B. Jenkins Christian Writers Guild and Word Weavers, Greenville. She lives in South Carolina where she hangs out with three lively children, one fabulous man, and a cast of imaginary characters who find their way onto the pages of her still unpublished novels. She drinks a lot of coffee.

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