Along for the Drive

Along for the Drive

When we think of a journey, many of us think of an open road with twists and turns. When someone asks me about my life’s journey, I start to think about famous quotes like “the journey is more important than the destination” and others like “no man steps into a river twice”. But the more I travel along life’s path I have begun to realize that it’s more like a road trip with the radio on. Although I’d like to think of myself as the person driving the car, the truth is that I seldom have control over my car, the radio station, or the road I am driving on. And after many bumps and scratches from me trying to grab the steering wheel, I realize that the lack of control is not necessarily a bad thing. 

What really starts to matter most is what or who is controlling your car, its direction, and the radio station. I have found that at times I am jumping from the backseat and trying to grab the controls, at other times it is on autopilot like the tesla cars with a vague sense of direction, and at other times I allow God to be in control. In my experience, I’ve done all of the above, and they all have had a different set of consequences.

Life on Auto-Pilot 

At 18 when I learned to drive a car my life went from parental control to autopilot, and I was ready to grab the wheel. The feeling of being able to control a powerful vehicle was the ultimate feeling for me. This same feeling transferred into my life as well. I wanted to live life on my own terms, my decisions, and my direction. My internal radio station played fast-paced rock music and I wanted to speed through every stop sign and speed bump. This went unchecked for a while until I physically crashed my car at 19. Mentally and emotionally I suddenly realized that I had no direction. I had been going so fast, that I had ignored many important things in life. I had no real connection with people. I somehow had 100+ contacts who would come to an event when I invited them but I had no real connection to them. On the outside, I was brave, confident, opinionated, and a bit arrogant, but inside I was a scared little child. I felt torn, I still crawled up near my mom after a nightmare but acted like a ‘know it all’ when she advised me. 

I am sure you’re smiling and thinking “Well, I am sure growing you out of it, right?” Well, I don’t think so! Perhaps if I had continued to drive, I might have evolved and chased different things, but I would have still left behind what mattered. Today I see so many broken adults who are incredibly successful, financially stable and yet equally lost. But I thank God for He saved me from driving down that path. 

The Steering in His Hands

In the next phase of my life, I decided to hand over the controls to God and tune into His radio station. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy. I kept trying to get the controls now and again and kept messing up, it was a crazy ride. I tried to turn the radio to ‘romance’ before God’s time, to fast-paced ‘success music’ before His time, and all the while frustrated that my life was going around in circles.   

Till He taught me to slowly let go.

It started with small things, I slowly realized that God had His hand over my life. He had blessed me with many things, a good family, and provision that I wasn’t necessarily grateful for or even noticed. 

Through seeing the needs of some people, He slowly moved my journey to help me appreciate what I had and fanned a flame that wanted to make me give back. It began when I started working in an NGO and learned what human trafficking was. I learned what injustice looked like and how people were helpless, in chains without any control over their lives. I still remember the face of a child who we rescued from begging who had no direction, protection, provision, shelter, or education from her mother, who herself was a teenager. It really jolted me to reality and made me appreciate what I had and where God had placed me. It helped me understand that God was compassionate towards people and wanted to teach me how to make a difference. And the more I submitted that area of my life to Him, the more I made a difference, and it gave me a sense of satisfaction that I cannot express. 

To date, submission isn’t that easy for me. It is still very hard, and I still fight for areas of my life that I don’t want to give up. I still try to switch the radio to my mood of things; I still play shallow music when God wants to take me deeper. And I still try to change the direction. But again, He is compassionate and patient and keeps giving me chances that are the essence of life’s journey. 

The best way to let go is to take a shorter scenic road trip with God. Where you just hang out with Him and let Him drive, change the music, and navigate. Relax. Talk. Enjoy the view with Him. And in that space of just hanging out without requests or suggestions, I think we begin to see a glimpse of the true meaning and purpose of the drive, just like a breath-taking view on a road trip. Away from the humdrum, engulfed in His love and being hugged by a song that He plays along.