Teaching Driving Skills

In communication with a teenager there is a very good activity that all teenagers love, which they dream about and which gives an opportunity to teach a young person lessons of life and responsibility - this is teaching car driving. While the child is small, they see how dad turns the steering wheel, and it will be a big event for them to sit on dad's lap and, taking the steering wheel in their hands, think that they are driving this car themselves, not noticing how dad's hands from below keep the car on the road, and legs regulate the speed. And the older the child becomes, the fewer dad's hands can be observed near the control levers. And sometime comes such a day when dad gives the keys to the car and sits next to them in the passenger seat, offering the teenager to take control of the vehicle themselves and feel all the responsibility for the safety of the car and the safety of passengers and other traffic participants.

In this situation it will be very appropriate to draw parallels between reality and spiritual things.

Driving instruction is not just lessons in acquiring useful skills, but reaching a special level of relationships where parents help a teenager gain maturity, where responsibility for other people's lives is placed on the young person, where they are given the power to be a driver. This is an expression of trust and trusting them with your life and safety. This is a kind of risk that can be very expensive.

It should immediately be noted that such activities for teaching driving skills should not present danger to other drivers and should be in accordance with established laws and traffic rules. It is best to choose deserted places or specially equipped areas for this.

The highway is not space, but a highly organized culture of movement, the rules of which are written with the blood of innocent, inattentive and proud people. Driving instruction should always go together with the theoretical part, where the teenager should learn traffic rules and know by heart the meanings of all signs, prohibitions and restrictions.

The steering wheel in hands is power, strength and freedom. The driver can drive as they want and wherever they want. This can cause pride and awareness of one's strength. But it should be explained that strength is not in speed and insolence, but in respect for other traffic participants and pedestrians. A wise driver knows when to stop and whom to let pass, even if someone is wrong. Remember that you are not alone on the road, and in another car someone's son or daughter, father or mother may be riding. Learn to see not cars, but people who are riding in them.

When a teenager takes the steering wheel and starts moving, their eyes are focused on the road, and their heart is open for learning. They are attentive to all your words and ready to listen to your lessons and instructions.

A traffic light is like God's answer to prayer. Sometimes it says "no" or "yes," sometimes it asks to wait, and sometimes it doesn't turn on, providing an opportunity to navigate the situation yourself.

The rearview mirror shows the path traveled, but does not call to return there. It shows what is left behind, calling to forget what is behind and reach forward.

Turn signals warn that you are changing the trajectory of movement and teach to care about the safety of others.

Headlights help very well in dark times, illuminating the path and warning oncoming traffic of your approach. They are like God's word, which illuminates spiritual darkness and preserves life from catastrophe.

The gearbox teaches that with a small engine load you can develop high speed if you switch the next speed step in time. Power steering teaches that any small movement of yours will be amplified, and you can do much, but without you and your movements it will do nothing.

The navigator shows the best path from any situation, not arguing, not being indignant when the driver chooses their own path, but always rebuilds the route and calmly, like Jesus, offers the best road.

Oil, antifreeze and fuel cannot be confused or mixed with each other. So truth and falsehood are incompatible. You can make a very interesting comparison when we hand over the steering wheel of our soul to Jesus and trust Him with our life. The car obeys not desires and wants, but control rules, laws of physics, inertia, gravity and movement.

It has been observed that developing automatism and coordination of hands and feet in an adult takes 4-5 times longer than in a teenager. Young people pick up driving skills faster and better remember all the rules they study.

But no matter how parents teach a teenager to drive, they cannot issue them a driver's license and give them the right to legally operate a car. For this there are driving schools with a specific training program and specially equipped vehicles. Therefore, all your driving lessons are good only for building bridges and communications with the teenager, and they are very important for personal closeness.

Not every teenager can afford to pay for training in a driving school, and here parents can set their conditions and make demands or give the future driver the opportunity to earn and pay the required amount themselves. The approach to son and daughter in this matter may differ. As a rule, boys have more opportunities to earn the desired license, and girls may need parental subsidies.

Someday will come the day when your teenager gets a license and asks you for a car to go on business. And here comes the "moment of truth" when they will be completely alone and will drive as they want. Let them understand that this is not just their decision, but an indicator of true character and the first exam on the secret life that only God and other traffic participants see.

The road is like the path of life, traffic rules are like God's law. Signs are reminders and warnings about danger. Road markings are boundaries in relationships that cannot be violated. Traffic lights are silent guardians commanding to stop or continue moving. Cameras and video cameras are the all-seeing eye. Fuel is like the presence of the Holy Spirit, without which you cannot go anywhere. Passengers are neighbors for whom you bear responsibility. The inspector is God's servant, appointed to punish violators. Accidents and breakdowns are life experiences that need to be overcome.

And while nothing has happened, decide for yourself whether you are ready to part with your car forever if an accident happens. How will you behave if you lose the car? Write a note of encouragement: "Don't worry, it's just metal, we'll buy something else, and you and your health are important to me!" - and put it in the vehicle registration or insurance policy.

It would be good if your adult child earned and bought a car themselves. This way they will value and take better care of what they invested their labor and money in.

Driving instruction is a very good opportunity to show a young person your love, your attitude toward the student in exchanging experience, your attitude toward things and your trust. Let each driving lesson become more than just a skill lesson. Let this be a time when the teenager's heart opens for important conversations, when they see that they are trusted, and learn to be responsible not from fear, but from love.

1. Please read Jer. 10:23; Prov. 3:5-6; 4:18; 15:22; Ps. 36(37):5; 118(119):105; Isa. 30:21; John 14:6; Deut. 30:16; Phil. 2:4; Rom. 13:1-5; 15:2, in light of this lesson.

2. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind?

3. What was revealed to you in this chapter?

4. What fears prevent giving the teenager more responsibility and teaching them useful driving skills?

5. Does my teenager understand that spiritual principles are as important as traffic rules?

6. Can you explain complex life principles through simple, understandable examples?

7. Are you ready to learn patience in the process of teaching a teenager?

8. What character qualities do you want to develop in your teenager through driving instruction?

9. How to show a teenager that people are more important than things?

10. Are you preparing the teenager for independent life or creating dependence on yourself?

11. Does the teenager learn by observing my behavior and attitude toward other people while I'm driving?

12. Do you show the teenager how to ask forgiveness for mistakes and bear responsibility for violations?

13. What are the most important life lessons that can be drawn from the process of learning to drive?

14. How can we turn ordinary driving instruction moments into opportunities for spiritual growth?