16-Year-Old Boys, Car Keys, and Prayer
I recently took my son for his driving test on his sixteenth birthday. This is the last child in a string of three with whom I’ve had this experience.
I’m noticing an uptick in my prayer life since then. Can anyone relate?
As I sat in the crowded, small waiting room of our local DMV, I watched him slowly backing out in my minivan, with the driving instructor in the front seat with him. I breathed a prayer for him. Be with my son, O God. Help him to focus.
I saw him return, carefully parking the van. I watched him walk into the station, and I looked for any telltale sign about the outcome. He tried to keep a straight face; but when he looked at me, a huge grin escaped.
When we got home that afternoon, he was out of the door in less than fifteen minutes. He wanted to go tell his best friend in person about his new status as independent driver. I was proud of him for passing the test, but my mother-heart was kneeling in prayer while he was out driving. Help my son to be safe. Bring him back to me!
Seeing him walk out the door brought me back to the day I got my driver’s license, many, many years ago. I asked my dad for the keys and ventured out for a one-mile drive to the local convenience mart and back. What a sense of liberty, to be out in the car alone! When I pulled back into the driveway, about fifteen minutes later, my dad was waiting out in the yard for me. I got out of the car, and he hugged me tightly and said, “I’m so glad you made it back!” We’ve laughed about that story over the years.
It was a milestone for my son and a new chapter in my life as a mother, letting go just a little bit more as he prepares to launch out in the years ahead. It is also a time when I draw just a little bit closer to God and have an opportunity to practice that very short verse in the Bible: Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
How about you? What is inspiring you to pray more lately?
Robin Pippin, Editorial Director
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