It was my dream. I needed a car for college and work. My heart was set on a Volkswagen Beetle. I worked at the bank, saving every penny I could. Then it happened. My Dad found a 1969 VW in Roanoke, Virginia. I was thrilled! Now I had to learn to drive a standard "stick" shift. My car was a "four in the floor" so I was determined to learn the coordinated skills of taking my foot off the accelerator, pushing in the clutch and changing gears...then taking my foot off the clutch while accelerating again. It seemed simple. But I had to practice...lots. Dad assured me that once I learned, I wouldn't even think about changing gears. He was right!
Driving my VW in the beautiful Virginia mountains had another advantage. I learned to stop on sloping hillsides and mountains...and start again without drifting backward. It took practice...but I finally learned to do that, too. Driving to work was especially fun. Going down winding mountain roads meant learning to "gear it down" and going back up mountains meant learning when to "gear up." I began thinking.
This journey of life also finds me traveling at various speeds. Sometimes traveling steep paths require me to slow down and become more aware of twists, turns and extra caution. Sometimes climbing up mountains enables me to enjoy the journey more freely and enthusiastically. Sometimes, I actually seem to be on a rare straight stretch, (like the only two straight stretches on my twenty-five mile drive to work), and I find myself going in "fourth gear" with windows down, music playing and wind blowing through my hair, singing my favorite songs on my VW car stereo. Sometimes stormy weather arrives and I am reminded to drive most cautiously, focusing on Who holds me continually.
I have been on this journey for a long time now. I often recall Dad's words about changing gears without even thinking about it. I have learned through each mile, each terrain, each storm and each straight stretch...that changing gears is necessary...constantly. This journey is not all storms. Nor is it all straight stretches. There are mountains, valleys, sharp turns, unexpected joys and unavoidable sorrows. Yet through each moment, I have learned to focus on the One who holds me always. I still own my 1969 "Herbie VW Huffman Lorenz"...but even more amazing is that God still loves me and calls me His daughter. I am amazed. I am grateful. I am never alone.<3~thl
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