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Less Than Perfect Life

By June 6, 20113 Comments

 

Know what the six scariest words in the English language are?

My

child

is

learning

to

drive.

Yep.  After raising three teenagers, I’m pretty sure those six words send more fear into the hearts of mothers everywhere than any others.

This morning I remembered why.

Ashton hopped into the driver’s seat, determined to drive to school for the very first time.  She’s had her learner’s permit for several months and doing pretty well with her driving skills.  Although I must admit, at first she had me a bit worried.  Both JP and I wondered if she would ever be street ready. But last week she had her second “behind the wheel” driver’s training session and received stellar comments from her instructor.  “She’s a much better driver than most students” he declared.  Of course, his praise boosted her confidence, which is good.

Sort of.

This morning she confidently plopped herself behind the wheel, with me in the passenger seat.  We were running a bit behind schedule, so she quickly turned on the ignition and pressed the accelerator. Except she forgot to put the car in reverse. BAM!  At 7:30am our house shook like we just experienced an earthquake that measured a 10 on the Richter scale.  JP and Kylie were still upstairs, and even as I am writing this, I’m wondering if they had any idea about what caused the chaos going on in our garage. (That’s sure to be a lively dinnertime discussion tonight!)

Needless to say, sweet Ashton was horrified.  “I’m sorry.  I’m sorry”  I’m so, so sorry”, she repeated with complete remorse.

What was my first thought?  Two words:  Damage and deductable.

What was my second thought?  The memory of my first accident at age 16 and how my precious dad responded with grace and mercy. 

So I gave my daughter what I received all those years ago.

No yelling.  No shame.  No silent treatment. No punishment.  Just grace and mercy…and a reminder of how to learn from our mistakes.

Accidents happen. But my response this morning was no accident.  I paused before I responded.  I didn’t let my every thought flow out of my mouth (although I’ve been known to do that, too).   

As I dropped her off at school this morning it could have been tense.  Their could have been tears, hurt feelings, harsh words and regret.  But because I was once the recipient of mercy and grace, I learned how to pass them on.

One day, when Ashton has a teenager of her own, I hope she remembers.  I hope the legacy of mercy and grace lives on.

Because all of us need a little mercy and grace now and then.

donnajones

More than a Bible teacher, Donna is a self-described Bible explainer. A colorful storyteller who combines Biblical truth with real-life anecdotes, her messages not only help listeners understand God’s Word, but most important, grasp how to live it out in real life.

3 Comments

  • Laurie Guy says:

    The day our daughter Jen started drivers training, we switched to decaf.

  • Cindy Shotwell says:

    Amen to that Donna
    Having taught three “invincible” boys to drive a stick shift no less, having grace in the pasenger’s seat is a God given gift. We have wonderful memories of having our necks whip-lashed to and fro as they learned the fine art of the clutch.And fortunately/UNfortunately I am the favored parent to be in that spot because of the grace and mercy MY mom and dad but mostly mom gave me when I was learning to drive a stick and the patience was put into play
    Thanks for your wonderful blog
    Cindy