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When I was 15, I was crazy excited to get my driver’s license and get behind the wheel of a car. I wasn’t ready. Deep down my parents knew I wasn’t mature enough, that I wasn’t ready. The officer who granted my license knew I wasn’t ready. He made me promise not to drive alone until I had more practice under supervision. (“No problem,” I told him.) But a few weeks later, there I was cruising down the road. And there I was a few months later, upside down in a ditch, watching my sister eat dashboard. She was fine. I was fine. The truck was not fine. And I wasn’t ready.

Some lessons you have to learn more than once. It had been a while since I began this journey, and it didn’t seem to moving nearly as fast as I had hoped. I was getting anxious about God using me in some obvious way. What was He waiting for?!? Recently, I got the answer. I was sitting in a church service, and the pastor read a scripture in Romans 8:28:

And we know all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Two important words there. 1. His. 2. Purpose. Most importantly, say them together: His Purpose.  The pastor went on to tell some stories of people who fell short in their attempts to achieve what God had planned for them. He warned us as a congregation. He looked into the crowd, to me specifically (it really felt that way) and he said, “You are NOT ready.” He would repeat that over and over and over again. I heard it loud and clear. God was telling me to chill out. I was not ready for whatever it was he had planned for me.  I needed more preparation. I needed to deepen my roots. I was not strong enough to be successful.

After Calie and I heard loudly and clearly that we needed to establish a deeper relationship with God, I took the first step. I set aside some time for him. My days are busy, with a hectic work schedule, two small children and on and on. But every morning I have a 30 minute commute. Historically, I would use this time to catch up with friends, listen to sports radio or plan for the latest “big meeting” at the office. I decided to give this time to God and see what he might do with it. Well, at least for a few days. By Thursday, I had slipped back into my routine of concurrently running an iPod, six-disc changer, satelitte radio, blackberry and tall cup of coffee. My quiet time had come and gone like a New Year’s resolution.

But then something interesting happened. I left for the office the next morning, reached over to grab my satellite radio remote and then noticed that my radio had been stolen during the previous night. There I was, driving along with a big hole in my dash. It was like God was saying, “Okay, let’s try this again. Do I have your attention now?” That morning I got back to business with regular quiet time.