It's about trust

7 August 2021

Lessons in life from the passenger seat

Words Belinda Davis

I have discovered that I am not the best passenger in the car. I am not a huge fan of driving and will happily suggest my husband drive as I relish the opportunity to relax and not concentrate on the task of manoeuvring a vehicle through often crazy traffic.

I am also blessed with being able to do other things in a moving vehicle that some others can’t, such as reading, writing, craft or playing with my iPad. This suits my husband as, when I am taken up with other activities, I don’t keep trying to activate the ‘brake’ on the floor of the passenger side. There is no such device, but I really wish there was!

I have the uncanny ability to look up at the wrong time – when brake lights from the vehicle in front seem to be bearing down on me at an unreasonable pace, for example. Then, on goes my brake. When I think my husband is about to pull out in front of oncoming traffic at the completely wrong time (according to me) – on goes my brake.

Each time this happens, my lovely husband looks over and tells me something like, “It’s okay” or “I’ve got this” or “I saw them.” I reassure him it’s not trusting his driving – it’s the other drivers I worry about. But I am now wondering, is that actually the case?

Is it really about others, or is it more about me and that I am not in control of the vehicle? I absolutely trust David’s driving ability – until I sense that things aren’t happening the way I want them to, and then I try to take back control.

While this is an issue that I need to navigate in my marriage, I certainly see a reflection of this attitude in my relationship with God, too. There have been many times that I have been in the middle of a situation I have entrusted to God, but when I begin to feel that things are not happening in my time frame or in the way that I think they should, I try to step in and apply the imaginary brake. It usually doesn’t go well.

There is a Bible verse that comes to my mind each time in Exodus chapter 14, verse 14, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

Another well-loved favourite is from the book of Proverbs, chapter 3 and verse 5, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” Again, I do trust God and his direction, but I need to continually relinquish control to him for the situations I face.

I will also try to relax in the process, both with God and my husband’s driving!

Major Belinda Davis is a Salvation Army officer (pastor) in South Australia. She blogs at a-blessed-life.com