Crazy Driver

Renae Brumbaugh

-Coffee Talk-

I have developed quite a knack for surrounding myself with the worst drivers on the planet. I’m like a magnet for them. Wherever I am, whether it’s on the freeway or on a back road, there they are.

 

There’s the little old lady who drives twenty-five miles an hour in a forty mile per hour zone, causing me to be late to my appointment. There’s the yippee-ki-yay cowboy motorcycle dude, zooming in front of me like the Lone Ranger on steroids and nearly giving me a heart attack. But no one, and I do mean no one, compares to the bad driver I encountered just the other day.

 

I was driving down a four-lane highway, through a sleepy little Texas town on my way to see my mom, when all of a sudden, this crazy, wild-eyed driver comes barreling down the lane next to me, toward oncoming traffic. He was going the wrong way . . . and he didn’t look concerned in the least.

 

Did I mention he was an emu?

 

That’s right, folks. An emu. As in, a big, goofy bird. He was running down the highway, in the lane next to me, as if he knew exactly where he was going, as if everybody else was going the wrong way.

 

Now, a little self-confidence can be a good thing . . . but in this case, too much of a good thing was about to turn this bird into a road kill version of cordon bleu.

 

A little while later, I passed a group of police cars, all with their lights on, surrounding a single car. The driver stood handcuffed, on the side of the road, while officers searched his vehicle.

 

I think the emu did it. And the reason he was going the wrong way is, he was running from the law. Running for his life.

 

Honestly, I think the entire driving world needs a refresher course in driver’s ed. Myself included. In that course, not only do we learn how to properly and safely operate a vehicle, we also learn basic life skills. Like, be polite. Be aware of your surroundings. And follow directions.

 

But Texas roads aren’t the only place where crazy driving can cause all sorts of havoc. We also need to be careful drivers on life’s roads. And even though I’ve been driving through life for several decades now, I’ll be the first to admit. Sometimes I drive like I don’t have a clue.

 

That’s why I need a refresher course from time to time. Like, every day. Good thing I’ve kept my driver’s manual — God’s Word. And good thing I have a patient tutor in the Holy Spirit. When I find myself going the wrong way, caught up with the crazy drivers around me, all I have to do is ask for help, or look up the answer in the manual.

 

When I do that, I find I’m safely on my way, going the right direction every time.

 

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness,” 2 Peter 1:3.