Teenage Driving Lessons

By: Jeremy Stickling

Life is happening. Am I listening? I’ve heard it said, “If you took a piece of paper and wrote a list of the good things in your life on one side and the bad things on the other, then re-wrote the lists ten years later, how many would switch sides?”

Which, of course, makes me think about my teenage years of driving. From age 16 to age 19, I went through drove four different cars. Each car led to a “life circumstance” that taught me a lesson. 

Car #1 – 1993 Chevy Lumina Eurosport. Age 16. It was red with a spiffy spoiler. Got it as a hand-me-down from my sister, who had run into someone in an intersection, buckling the hood. But I didn’t mind. That Eurosport could really go. Better yet, the muffler had fallen off, enabling me to really make some noise in the high school parking lot. The speedometer needle read 15 mph too fast, so my friends thought I drove super-fast everywhere.

The painful part: It didn’t start when it rained. Wet weather meant I rode the bus. Eventually, it died, never to start again.

The lesson: don’t rely on a fair-weather friend. (Proverbs 25:19)

Car #2 – 1988 Ford Tarus. Age 17. Brown. Very brown. Definitely no spoiler. Hand-me-down from my sister (again), who thought it was cute to have a license plate that said “BRWNIE” (because the square-shaped car looked like one). The dashboard shook violently if the car reached 70 mph.

The painful part: I was fiddling with the radio dial and missed the red light. Distracted driving. The other car in the intersection had not missed their green light… (my mother said, “Why is it always my kids??!? This was the fifth teen car crash in our family, my sister providing the first four in the preceding two years.)

The lesson: Avoid distractions. Direct your focus. (Hebrews 12:2)

Car #3 – 1996 Mitsubishi Galant. Age 18. Maroon. Got it for $600. A teen short on cash doesn’t have many options. The cracked transmission casing lowered the price.

The painful part: Every morning, I had to pour in two quarts of transmission fluid. It would drain out by the end of the school day. It is NOT cool to fill your car with tranny fluid in the parking lot. So, I’d drive it home dry. By getting the revs high enough, I could WHAM through the gears without killing it. Additionally, the leaking fluid hit the hot engine, leaving a pale blue smoke in my wake. (Several instances of kind fellow motorists trying to alert me to the blue smoke. I’d smile and wave back.)

The lesson: The thirsty soul that seeks the right source will find fulfillment. (Psalms 42:1)

Car #4 – 1992 Ford Tarus. Age 19. Tan. But in pristine condition. Great value! This was going to be my 7-year car! Not very cool (more of a ‘hummmm’ than a ‘VROOM’), but I didn’t care much anymore. And then…I turned left on a green light that was NOT a green arrow. T-bone, my fault. The family crash total ticked up to six (or was it seven?). It dented the passenger side doors in about two feet and bent the tops of the doors away from the door frame. 

The painful part: At this point, beggars can’t be choosers. With a little duct tape and a little bit of GREAT STUFF TM, I was back in business. I turned lots of heads with that car. And had lots of people ‘pretend not to notice.’ Most distinctly, I recall being laughed at by two grade-schoolers on 8-speed bikes.

The lesson: Humility. Sometimes forced upon us, but works best when humility is a choice. (James 4:6)

When life happens, it’s best to listen to what circumstances might be saying to us. Now, if we can just figure out how to listen in the moment rather than 20 years later!