By Brenda Wilburn
Watching your teenager drive off alone in
his car for the first time is a very scary and tense moment (for the parent that
is). While teaching him to drive,
there was security in knowing I could grab the wheel, or holler directions at
any given time. I do not recall
ever grabbing the wheel, but I was always eager to point, shout or hit my
imaginary brake. I just felt more
in control being there.
When my youngest child was two years old,
God taught me this was how my faith in Him had become.
As long as I had one hand “on the wheel,” God could be trusted to do
his job, and be God. After a
routine check-up, my doctor told me I had a small “mass.”
Not a bump, or a lump, but a small mass. I will never forget the terror I felt. “Do you think it is cancer?”
I nervously asked. He did
not think so, but only tests could rule that out.
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, whose thoughts are
fixed on You. Isaiah 26:3
As I prayed the next few days (very long
days) and waited for the test results, I felt God was telling me I trusted Him
with everything – except my children. I
wanted one hand on the wheel. I
gave my children to the Lord that day, no matter what happened to me.
He could have the wheel, and I would trust Him to put other people in
their lives at all the confusing crossroads in life.
Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will gain a
good reputation. Trust in the Lord
with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:4-6
No, it was not cancer.
But it was a lesson on faith, pride, and God’s will.
Even as my children are now adults, it is hard at times to let them be in
the driver’s seat, but I know they all know Jesus as their Savior and their
Lord. This is the greatest peace a
parent can have. (Thank you God for Your promise in Philippians 1:6 – And I
am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work
until it is finally finished on that day when Christ Jesus comes back again.)
My constant prayer now is they will let God have both hands on the wheel
and trust in His infinite wisdom.