Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay
Automatic car washes freak me out, especially the ones that make me steer onto a conveyer belt, put the car in neutral, and take my hands off the wheel. In other words, I must agree to lose total control. That is what makes me shiver. I like to be in control.
But washing my car by myself is less than effective. I’m very short and getting on in years. Stooping, stretching, bending? Ouch. I need assistance in getting the car clean. So I agree to enter this surreal world of metal, rubber, soap, and water.
Then it gets worse. Soon a rainbow of foam covers the windshield, leaving me blind to what is happening. I have no bearings. I know there is a car on the belt in front of me and one behind me (usually a minivan or SUV and I drive a subcompact). As we jerk along the belt, I pray we are all moving in sync and none of our cars get shoved into the other. I simply do not trust the mechanics of these automated things.
Finally, at long last, the foam slides down the windshield. For a split-second, I see the license plate ahead of me. Then, swoosh. The rubber tentacles roll down to envelop the car. Peering desperately through the flops of rubber, I, at last, see the “rainwater” rinse sprays. Ah- ha. There is still an arm’s length between me and the rear bumper of the one in front. The drying torrents gear up. The water droplets separate and dance on the glass. I can see the exit and, thankfully, the car ahead has made it through.
Right now, that is how my life feels. I know God has a plan, I just can’t see it. And that is where the trust factor comes in. I keep moving along at a snail’s pace, feeling out of control, in neutral. I guess I am moving toward the plan because I sense things are happening around me even if I cannot see them at the moment. But I still fight the urge to take the wheel, slam on the brakes, or put my “car” in drive and move things along at my preferred pace. Yes, to do so would not end well in my life any more than it would in the car wash. I know that. Even so…
Faith sometimes means stepping onto the conveyer belt and shoving our lives into neutral. After all, the results will be great in the end, and we admit we need assistance in getting the task done well, which is why we’ve agreed to hop on in the first place.
Maybe the next time I get my car washed I will grimace less and trust more. Same with my life.
Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this… Psalm 37:5
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