I am a city driver. If you don’t know what a city driver is, it might be because you are one. This message is for you. Or, maybe you are like my mother, and you use your turn signal to turn into your own driveway on a country road that won’t see another car for an hour. This message is for you also.
I grew up in the country, which was great for learning to drive. The road I just mentioned will see as many cars today as I will see when I look down my block. Learning to drive in the country gave me a lot of room to make mistakes. It wasn’t too long before I took my skills, got too comfortable, and ended up in a ditch upside-down.
Now I am a city driver. I was reminded of this on Sunday. When we returned from camp, we found ourselves in the middle of stop-and-go traffic pulling up to a stoplight. “Whoa,” one of the boys in the van said, “aren’t we supposed to be a car length away?”
THANKS
“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.” Hebrews 12:28
The other day I saw a quote on facebook: “What if you woke up this morning with only the things you had thanked God for yesterday?” That was a *gulp* moment. Why do we have such difficulty giving thanks? Maybe it’s because, like my country-now-turned-city-driving, we know it in our heads but fail to put it into practice. Or we have convinced ourself that we know what we are doing, so giving thanks really isn’t necessary. That might leave you upside-down in a ditch before too long.
When the boy brought up the distance at which to follow the car, I commented, “Oh yeah, follow one car length behind for every 10 miles per hour!” He responded, “How come you guys learn this stuff in driver’s training but then don’t do it?” I responded, “Maybe we’re like the man who looks in the mirror and forgets what we look like.”
We know to give thanks. We even set up a day to remind us that we should. And we say things like, “We should be more thankful.” Yes, we should. Have you ever met someone who seems so much more thankful and grateful than we are, even though they seem to have less than you? Don’t they make you wonder about how they became that way? Well, maybe it’s time for YOU to be that person.
GIVE
I told the boy that I would “try out” the recommended distance while driving, and I did. It wasn’t the first time I used self-imposed driving restrictions. Seven and a half years ago, I received a speeding ticket. The first time that I was pulled over and I was given a ticket. (What about the warning?) Within that same month, I was pulled over a second time. And given my second ticket. Both times were in a work vehicle. Both times I was headed back for the day. And when my supervisor found out about the “both times…”
“If you have another ticket, you will have too many points and we cannot insure you for work.” Translation: since you need an agency vehicle for work, you will lose your job. So when I say that I have had self-imposed driving restrictions, that is what I mean. For three years, I was a GREAT driver. I had to be. I drove the speed limit, used my turn signals, and stopped at stop signs (as opposed to rolling through). When I drove on 131, I always felt like Moses parting the Red Sea as cars whipped around me on both sides. (Talk about being a good driver – I was driving 55 on both sides of the S curve like it was posted. It’s been changed to 70 now, hallelujah!)
What I found out was that I received more than two tickets “falling off” my insurance; I found peace. Sure, the speed limit felt awkward at first. (“Oh, so THIS is what 30 mph feels like!” Confession, I couldn’t get down to 25…that’s too much.) But, with time, I enjoyed it. Rushing somewhere was not an option. Road rage was not an option – I would never catch them. All I could do was drive like I was supposed to drive. I was content.
On Sunday, I “tried out” the car length assignment while I drove home. It felt familiar, like the time I HAD to be good. I did a visual check as I drove: “30 mph…so I need about 3 cars…” I could get used to this. Then came my challenge. I was in a lane that was merging beyond the stoplight. When the light turned green, the truck behind me sped up, pulled to the left of me AND pulled back in front of me! That did not make me happy. I started to do what I have done before – drive so that our bumpers nearly kissed. (THAT, my friends, is a “city driver.”) Then I had this thought, “No, Doug, that’s not the proper distance.” So I allowed him to pull away…and felt content.
ING
Giving thanks is like that. You know to do it. You practice every year, or maybe even every meal. But when you keep doing it, you find that gratitude starts to build within you. You may hear these verses sometime this week:
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:16, 17
It’s possible that you have heard those verses so often that the words have lost meaning for you. So let me point something out : it is IN God and FOR God that you can give thanks. The first part reminds us to have “the word of Christ” in us as we give thanks. And the last part reminds us to give thanks TO God. Rooted and reaching.
If you’re still taking credit for the blessings in your life, it will be hard to be thankful. And if you are giving thanks without having the word of Christ in you, your list will run out by halftime of the Lions’ game (using the word “game” loosely).
Remember when I asked you about meeting someone who seems more grateful with less? For me, that was my youngest son. Last year his teacher had read the book, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp. She then challenged her students to create their own list, with a goal of 300 by the end of the year. When we had the last conference of the school year, my son reported his total and he had blown past the goal by hundreds. I nearly cried as I thought about how grateful my son had learned to be while my list might not run past my own fingers (health, family, friends, job, ummmm…)
A colleague gave me that same book to read on Monday, and I look forward to digging in.. I expect to find something like what I found when I made myself drive by the rules. I expect contentment. Becoming more grateful is not an overnight experience. And it shouldn’t require the threat of losing something, as with my job, to start being thankful. Start your own list, and dare yourself not to duplicate. It will feel strange and forced at first, but you will feel like Moses before too long. For a good Thanksgiving passage, chew on Exodus 15:1-18. It will take as long to read it as it will take for the Lions to fall behind, and only one of those options is worth hearing about.
Remind yourself that it is “Thanksgiving” and not “Thanks Given” Day. The “ing” points to a continual action, and not something to check off your annual list. Make it part of who you are and what you do. After I passed my first car distance test, I was given another one. I had a green light, and the car in front of me turned right. I slowed, and saw that a car waiting at the intersection made a right turn – right in front of me! The nerve! My mother would NEVER do that! I began to accelerate and heard that same, “No, Doug..” and I slowed down, and found my peace again.
Try three “thanksgivings” a day. That was the bar set for my nine-year old, and he ended up with nearly 1000. I think he will be a great “country driver.”
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