Are You a Back Seat Rider?

“Tell me another story Gigi!” the girls asked with praying hands.

One of the things they enjoyed the most was getting tucked into bed by one of their grandmothers and hearing stories about their mom and dad as children.

“Your mom always wanted to ride in the front seat,” my mother said as she settled in the sofa.

“This was before seat belts or car seats.” The girls covered their open mouths with their little hands.

“She urged your granddad to pass all the cars because she wanted to get to our destination quickly. And she never stopped asking “Are we there yet? How much longer?”

My youngest one shook a finger at me and made a face.

“Her little sisters, on the other hand,” continued my mother, “played and slept in the back seat the whole way!”

Before I went to sleep that night, I reflected on that story.

I’m thankful I can enjoy our car trips now (and for car seats and seat belts), but it made me think about the differences.

Some people view the journey through life like I did back then, restless and impatient to reach a target that is usually moving. Inevitably, there’s always someone with a better job, a bigger house and more followers on social media. This, to many may look like success, but at the end

the result is frustration, physical and mental exhaustion and discontentment.

Jesus wants us to ride through life in the back seat, resting and trusting in His guidance, provision and protection.

He wants us to enjoy the journey fully and abundantly, stopping along the way to admire the flowers and imitate the birds, both in their beauty and their unwavering faith.

He feels so strongly about it that He reminds us in Matthew 6:26-29

 Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?  And who of you by worrying can add one ^[a]hour to [the length of] his life? 

 And why are you worried about clothes? See how the lilies and wildflowers of the field grow; they do not labor nor do they spin [wool to make clothing], yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory and splendor dressed himself like one of these. AMP

Like my dad lovingly sent me to the back seat to play and rest while He took care of the driving, our heavenly Father reminds us how valuable and important we are to Him.

Jesus died on the cross to prove it.

He invites us to surrender it all to Him and trust that He can lead us to an abundant, fulfilled successful life and He tells us how in Philippians 4:6-8 

Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding, will guard your heart and mind through Jesus Christ. (TPT)

I decided to give my life to Jesus forty years ago, but every once in a while, I find myself not only in the front, but trying to drive the car!

Thankfully I have His Word to remind me to return to the back seat, trusting that He has a plan for me full of love, hope and a bright future.

How about you? Do you want to ride in the back seat?