On several occasions our daughter has been with me in the car when I’ve had a “crazy spell.” So, now on this journey to become stirred not shaken, she’s the one watching me pretty closely.
Thank the Lord I traumatized her in those earlier days, so much that she hasn’t dared to behave like me behind the wheel. One particular time (and there really were just a couple) a woman driving erratically cut in front of me and I quickly had a way to do the same to her, she then did it to me again this time she flipped me off as she flew around. I then stayed right on her bumper and we both sped up. Two wheelin it around a corner, my pre-teen daughter had the death grip on anything she could find. The woman pulled into a store parking lot and as we both got out of our cars, I saw a small child in the back seat with no car seat or seatbelt. The woman started yelling profanity at me, I dialed the police. She realized I called the police, so she phoned her mother calling me everything in the book, while stating she was going to jail. I quickly gathered through that conversation that she had a warrant, and no DL so she needed the mother to come get the child. She then kept cussing and yelling at me. The window was down and the child was listening and watching, I hid my crazy, and almost calmly stated to this woman that her driving actions could have harmed her child. She didn’t miss a beat but just kept on ranting and raving at me. By now I had leaned back against my car and remained silent….that’s when I heard the Holy Spirit remind me of the child in my car, and asking me what kind of valuable lesson was I teaching her through all of this.
The police arrived and neither of us “ladies” could stop talking at the same time so they separated us. She then kept yelling at me from across the parking lot. By then I was silently wishing she’d stop or she was going to jail. I actually felt bad for her, she seemed to have WAY more going on in her life than I did in mine, my heart was sick for her child witnessing the before behavior and the after behavior. I then realized, I caused the after behavior by chasing her down, to honestly punch her lights out for giving me the finger and cutting me off!
The family member arrived and put the child in her car and waited until the officer walked the crazy driver back to her car. I stood there shocked as she raised her hands making an ugly face to me, before getting in her car and driving off. The officer then said nothing more to me, but got in his car and drove away. Confused, angry, and slightly relieved that she didn’t go to jail I looked at my daughter who was almost in tears, and I apologized.
Recently, my daughter now almost 24 and I were in the car when a driver did a lunatic stunt, teasingly she said “oh great, here we go!”
Join me…..as we travel together this road of recovery, becoming stirred not shaken modeling Christ and his behavior.
“Father, keep us quiet enough so that we can hear the Holy Spirit speak in those times that we want to be anything but lady like. In Jesus name Amen.”