Skip to main content

The Generational Blessing of Back Seat Drivers






A generational blessing in our family is one of back seat drivers.  What a great place to learn how to pray!

My daughter told me a cute story about a back-seat driver, her daughter Susanna, who is four.  After picking up Sookie from preschool and buckling in her back car seat, Carrie tried several times to start the car.  Noticing her daughter observing her, Carrie remained peaceful and turned to Sookie in the back seat.  “Do you want to join hands with me and pray?”  The two prayed, but the car still did not start.  Then Sookie said “Mommy, it’s in the wheel.”  Her mom questioned her again.  “It’s in the wheel,” the little back-seat driver said.  Carrie turned the wheel and the car started immediately.  

Back up 33 years.  Carrie was two and sitting in the back seat of my car.  We just moved from Chicago to a small Arizona town and I was dealing with culture shock big time.  No Shopping mall and no modern anything.  We took a big pay cut and I just enrolled my oldest child in kindergarten at a new school.  No friends.  New church.  No car.  

One day my husband purchased a car for me on the way home from work.  The car was only a few years old and the price was too good to pass up but I had to learn how to shift the gears manually.   Before work one morning I got my first lesson with Tom sitting at my side and our toddler in the back seat.  I wanted to learn it in one morning and I was frustrated because the car kept dying out.  Then I heard Carrie say “You should ask Jesus to help you, Mommy!”  All the tension broke and my smile returned!

Oh, these back seat drivers that love the Lord.  They’re the best!

This story links to Hazel’s website, Tell Me A Story.



Tell Me a Story

Comments

  1. FloydApril 23, 2013 at 3:04 PM

    Those are the kind of back seat drivers you don't mind having around! Cute stories... Funny how I think God actually uses the little ones to be His voice sometimes...

    ReplyDelete
  2. SharonApril 23, 2013 at 4:12 PM

    What a precious story! I like backseat drivers that are helpful!! Out of the mouths of babes...

    And, aren't you glad that the Holy Spirit helps us *drive* our way through life?! His advice has helped keep me on the road, and out of the ditches, many a time!

    GOD BLESS!

    ReplyDelete
  3. http://bitsandpieces-sonja.blogspot.com/April 23, 2013 at 4:15 PM

    What a sweet blessing, the voices of kids saying it like it is!! One more time, no wonder Jesus loves the little children, :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. PeggyApril 23, 2013 at 5:13 PM

    Thanks for the fun post. We have a few back seat drivers in my family too. Child back seat drivers are sweet, adults not so much.

    ReplyDelete
  5. DeniseApril 23, 2013 at 6:52 PM

    Such a cute story.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Joyful in His PresenceApril 23, 2013 at 6:55 PM

    What a priceless story you've shared about back seat drivers, Mary! Love it!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousApril 23, 2013 at 11:36 PM

    Visiting from Hazel's Tell me a Story. Great story. Made me smile.
    God bless
    Tracy

    ReplyDelete
  8. DeeApril 24, 2013 at 6:27 PM

    Wonderful blessing to have such sweet back seat drivers....still smiling over you story. :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. RCUBEsApril 26, 2013 at 6:25 AM

    It's awesome to hear about these stories from your precious "back seat drivers" which are both positive!!! Not like the annoying atmosphere back seat drivers often do. What faith they both have in Jesus! Have a great weekend sister Mary! Blessings and love to you.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Susan Marlene April 28, 2013 at 6:57 AM

    This is story is so precious!! What a memoire! Our Lord using children to bless you!! Children can be so in tune to the stirrings of the Holy Spirit! :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. a joyful noiseApril 28, 2013 at 10:08 PM

    A little child shall lead them. Thank you for your beautiful story shared at "Tell Me a Story."

    ReplyDelete
  12. Crown of BeautyMay 3, 2013 at 8:15 PM

    Oh Mary, I just loved reading this post. Children are such a God-sent in times like these. These stories need to be told and re-told. I am rejoicing in the way Carrie's life has unfolded. May God continue to be glorified in your family. Tell Carrie I am still praying for her.

    Love
    Lidia

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spiritual Sundays ~ Flamboyant Love

I was shopping for a birthday card during my lunch hour last week when I overheard an elderly woman in the card aisle talking to her niece, a woman about my age. Here is what she said: “ I threw out all my cards. They never meant those words anyway .” Lots of laughter followed. How sad I thought to be unable to receive the love sent to her in the sentiments of a card. This incident got me thinking about the love of God and resolving to embrace it when it is offered to me. It doesn’t matter if I think I’m worthy of such extravagant love; He thinks so! In contrast, just a day later I received one of those gorgeous hand-crafted cards in the mail from my friend, Kay, who loves paper crafting. It was so pretty and love and joy just oozed out of it when I opened it. This is a sample of her designs at Creativity is Good. Kay wrote a beautiful note to me in the card reminding me of God’s tender love for me. She ended her thoughts with “The God of the universe loves us more than we can ever f...
25 comments
Read more

Holiday Movie Comes to Life

It’s uncanny when a new holiday movie comes out and resembles your personal life.   I came clean to my husband on that drive to the Harkins in Sedona confessing that the movie got bad ratings.   It isn’t the type of movie that he would choose to see in the first place.   Rotten Tomatoes gave it one star.   My prince charming replied:   “ Let’s see what we think of it and rate it ourselves.”   Yes!   High five to his palm! It started out as a fun afternoon date.   It would have been perfect if the lady directly in front of me didn’t have on super-strength perfume.   Smells can be troublesome when you’re prone to headaches.   I stuck my head in a big bucket of buttered popcorn; you know-- to alleviate her fragrance, because popcorn smell is less offensive.   What else is a girl like me to do? We named the genre “drama with comedy.”   Cast of characters acted like the typical family scene at Christmas tim...
27 comments
Read more

Abba's Lap

I noticed a behavior pattern in little Amy, twenty months old, that I want to imitate.  She moves fast engaging in one toddler activity after another spinning like a whirlwind from one room to another.  Yet, she pauses,  intermittently , long enough to get refreshed.   I want to be like this grandchild of mine because she knows where to go and how to get comforted. Amy moves at record speed, putting more miles on a pedometer in one hour than my accumulated weekly workouts at the gym.  She can build a skyscraper so tall, I wonder why those bright pink Lego’s don’t topple to the ground as she continues to stack just one more piece on top. I learned never to leave the room to get another cup of coffee.  Once, when I returned, I found her climbing past the couch with hands and feet reaching for the living room drapes. She has a consistent habit that I admire.  In the midst of her activities, as she moves robustly from one play...
51 comments
Read more