(Psst … Looking for this week’s Five Minute Friday link-up? It’s right over here — and there’s a giveaway!)
This is Day 4 of 31 Days of Life in South Africa …
The Lord had provided enough money for me to purchase a car when I arrived in South Africa, so arrangements were made for me to buy a little white Jetta from the twins’ older sister.
There was only one problem: It had a manual transmission, and I’d never driven a stick shift before.
Well, except for the one or two lessons that my former late-night waffle-eating partner had given me before leaving the States, but those hadn’t proven very fruitful.
So, my personal tour guide took it upon himself to teach the ignorant American how to drive a manual.
He took me to the parking lot of the University of Cape Town, where the rustic campus buildings are nestled into the mountainside like a red-headed choir serenading the city bowl.
Night after night we’d go to that same parking lot and practice the same basic steps, even in the rain:
Neutral, first gear, start, stop. Neutral, first gear, start, stop.
His patience was unending; mine was short-lived. I wanted to learn how to drive, not just stop and start. But his efforts and longsuffering paid off, and in hindsight reminded me of the Father’s patience with His children.
Now all I had to do was remember to sit on the right side of the car, shift with my left hand, and drive on the lefthand side of the road.
***
[Tweet “”The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.” ~ Psalm 103:8″]
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Yes, driving is an adventure at first…but I loved it! It feels more natural to me driving on the left and I had really big problems going back to right when I returned to Germany. My family called me a danger for the road! 🙂
yes i know God’s stop-start in my life too, but there is wisdom in it, even if i don’t always see it at the time.
I remember learning to drive a stick shift! I’m not sure I could do it backwards (not in reverse, but with left and right switched), though.