There is nothing better than waking up to the sound of crashing waves and seagulls in the morning. We have taken a slight detour from our NC trek and found our way to North Myrtle Beach for two nights. It has been a wonderful time to get away and invest in my children. They are growing up so fast so I grab every opportunity I can.
Sam, my 15 year old, has his driver’s permit. He is eager beaver every time I mention we need to go somewhere. I allowed him to drive around in Whiteville and Brunswick while we visited my mother-in-law, but once we arrived at the beach, I became the keeper of the keys once more.
Last evening after dinner he asked if he could drive back to the hotel. I could see the wheels turning in his mind and knew he was building his argument in his mind and loading his guns to stake his claim. I looked at him and said,
“Sam, I am really proud of the way you drove in Whiteville and Brunswick, but North Myrtle Beach is a whole different ballgame. There are lots of families vacationing with cars full of people talking, listening to loud music and arguing about where they will go eat. There are far more people celebrating their time off with alcohol that choose to climb behind the wheel of the car than at home. You simply have not developed the skills you need to have quick reaction time to respond should you encounter a drunk driver coming into your lane. I may not do much better than you, but I do have some years of experience under my belt that would give us a better chance of driving away safely.”
It was amazing how he looked at me and said, “I understand; that makes sense.” and was done with it. I couldn’t believe I had gotten off that easily.
Once we got back to the hotel, as any parent does, I played my little victory back in my mind hoping to learn anything I could from it for future “discussions” with Sam and the Lord brought Matthew 25 to my mind. In verses 14-30 you read of the master who put his servants in charge of different amounts of money while he was gone. The servants who had done well with the money the master entrusted them with were praised “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ [vs. 23] and the one who had not done well was cast out.
We are all entrusted with many things from God, not just finances. We must learn to do well with what He gives us if we ever expect to be entrusted with more. Sam needs to master the basic skills he has learned before he starts adding more challenges to his driving practice. Otherwise, it could prove disastrous for him. We face the same possible end results in life. We need to work with what we have successfully before we look for more.
Is there an area in your life you want to see increase- in your ability to minister to others, in your finances, in your relationships? Focus on being a good steward of what has already been entrusted to you first. The Master is watching.