Emotions are a wild ride. They will take us all over the road of life. I can feel good and bad about myself all in the same day. When I have allowed my emotions to take the wheel, I have found things can be quite unpredictable and sometimes even disastrous.
One moment I will be cruising along enjoying the scenery, and the next moment I wake up in a deep dark ravine wondering if anyone even knows my whereabouts. Do you have ears to hear what I am saying? Or maybe I should ask if you have eyes to read what I am writing?
Imagine each of us being born into a car which represents our life. From the young ages of zero to around twelve our parents are typically the ones driving our vehicle. They guide us down the road trying to keep us on the right path. Then the teen years hit and we begin grabbing the steering wheel. Maybe we know a better path to take than our parents, a shortcut or less boring route. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy we just want to take our own path.
Life is like a road trip. When the wrong driver is at the wheel, things can get miserable real fast.
However, when you take a road trip with someone you love and trust, everything can be an adventure. I love going on road trips with my husband because: 1) He enjoys driving more than I do 2) he stays calm in scary situations 3) I get to enjoy the scenery.
Be the change… let go of the wheel
On this crazy road trip called life, it’s me in the car alone. My husband cannot take the wheel and keep my crazy emotions from steering me all over the place. Even if I wanted my husband to sit in the driver’s seat of my life, it would never work out because it was not made for him. Interestingly enough, I have found that it was not made for me either.
When I relinquish control and allow God to take the wheel of my life, the ride is pretty amazing. I’m not going to lie, even with God at the wheel there have been times when I felt we took a wrong turn and ended up on the wrong side of the tracks. But when He's at the wheel, it doesn’t seem quite as scary. There have even been times when we’ve drove off into a dark ravine. As I looked around feeling beatdown and bruised, wondering if anyone even knew my whereabouts, I realized who was in the driver’s seat next to me and found peace. For some people, “Jesus, Take the Wheel” is nothing more than a Carrie Underwood song. For me, it is a declaration of surrender. Why? Because riding in the passenger seat with the one I love and trust at the wheel is so much more enjoyable because: 1) He takes delight in being at the wheel 2) He stays calm in scary situations 3) I get to enjoy life (the scenery) more.