Driving Home

One of the biggest casualties of our technological age is what happens in the car driving home. It used to be, and not that long ago, the car was the sacred domain of our favorite radio stations, personalities, or cassettes (or 8 tracks!). Even before cell phones, we would leave our school or job and without thinking turn on the tunes and immerse ourselves in the incessant noise that would somehow help us to relax. It was a ritual that few of us could resist.

Then came the cell phone, and for some the CD or radio still gave comfort driving home, but for most we were able to "catch up" on those last minute phone calls, check our voice mail, or just grab a few minutes talking to a friend.

The cost of this is, whether it was the cassette in the 1970s or the cell phone of 1990s and beyond, we lost the chance to see our traveling home time to be a chance to slow down, to reflect, and to readjust ourselves to those back home. While what we were leaving may have been important, it was nothing compared to those to whom we were going.

My mentor in my 20s, a guy named Jim Shelton, mentioned this to a few of us who regularly gathered at his feet to learn about life and God and ministry. He reminded us that the car ride home was a great gift, for us and for those we loved. He suggested we practice the discipline of slowing our minds and hearts as soon as we got into the car on the way home, even for us who were single. He suggested using that time to shut out the demands and screams of our daily grind, and to quietly invite Jesus to enter with us into that quiet. For those married, and/or with kids, to discipline ourselves to make that a time to shift from thinking about us and our worlds to considering the needs, desires, and world of those we will soon face. Jim helped us to see that by taking those few minutes to prepare for re-entry, to be ready to give or help or listen such that from the second we open that door we are ready to bless those we love, is our calling as lovers of God.

When you get into your car, heading home at the end of your busy day, stop yourself when you lean in to turn on the stereo or grab the phone. Invite the Lord to hold you, and to remind you of the gift he has given you in those you love. And prepare yourself to step in with grace, mercy, and love.