September 15, 2006

I looked at my daughter and smiled.  For some reason she didn’t return my pleasantries.  Instead, she directed her concentration straight ahead.  “Clutch slowly out.  Accelerator in.  Keep the RPM’s up.  That’s right.”  I spoke calmly and encouragingly to her.

Driving a manual transmission is one of many skills I want my daughters to have as they enter adulthood.  So here the two of us were, in a small pick-up on a back road here in the valley.  

We stopped.  “Put it in first.  Good.  Now again.  Clutch out.  Watch the RPM’s . . . “  The truck jerked to a stop.

“This is so embarrassing.  I don’t know what I’m doing wrong.”

“It’s just like riding a bicycle.  Get the balance between your two feet and it will click for you.”

“But I just can’t do it.  I’m trying.”  And then the tears - a bad sign during driving lessons.  So we called it quits.  One week later we were in a deserted parking lot.  It seemed a perfect opportunity.

“Get in the driver’s seat.”  I said.   “But first let me see if I can simulate your driving style to see what’s going on.”  I successfully stalled a couple of times.

She got into the car.  “I’m not even going to sit with you this time.  Do it yourself.  Forget about the RPM’s.  Pay attention to when the clutch begins to engage.  There – see how the truck is just beginning to role forward.  That’s the clutch.  Let the truck start slowly moving and then gradually release the clutch the rest of the way.   Yes!  That’s it.”

She did it.  Then stopped and repeated it.  After a couple more times around the lot, she stopped beside me with a big smile on her face.  “I think I’ve got it.”

We live in an era of information overload.  Everyone wants us exposed to their influence.  One sobering reality brought home by my driving experience is that bad information, even when sincerely repeated over and over, doesn’t have the power to change.  I know how to drive a manual transmission.  But I didn’t communicate what I was really doing.  

I sincerely communicated my experience.  The tragedy is that what I told my daughter wasn’t true.  Now what’s really scary for me is that I see similar interactions happen on broader, spiritual levels.  I love being a Christian.  I want to tell my friends.   I don’t want to lose my passion about life and how I communicate it.  But even more so, I pray that my influence will be grounded in what is true.

It’s Jesus himself who said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  (John 8:32)

Be at peace,
Pastor Steve