Driver's Ed Impact Panel

My lovely daughter was required to go to this impact panel last Saturday for driver's ed. I drew the short straw and went with her (she got extra credit for dragging a parent with her - is that all I am now, extra credit?). It was a panel of people that had been affected by poor driving decisions.

Okay, maybe I have just heard and seen too many of these as a high school teacher, but I just don't know that sitting in a huge auditorium with 100 other families is going to have a big impact on new drivers. I have a feeling that it is therapeutic for the people speaking to share and feel that what they say makes a difference. I just don’t know if it truly does change driver behavior.

My heart ached for them as they shared the stories of loved ones lost in car accidents. A couple were alcohol relates, a couple were not. They wanted to stress that driving was a privilege and a responsibility and not just fun and games.

I get it. What frustrated me the most was that these people sharing had no hope. They explained how they were taking anti-depressants and how their lives were never going to be the same. None of them expressed a hope in eternity. Where is God in all this? Life is such a precious gift and can change in an instant. Where was the “closure” for these people without the hope of Christ?

I must confess that my heart was hard and I just didn't know how to get over it - still don't. How do I share the Hope of Christ with people that feel so abandoned by Him?

I had mentioned to Charity - since she is critiquing my driving - that you can't control other driver's. You can do your best to stay out of their way and drive defensively, but your life is ultimately in God's hands. I told her that she should be prepared to die. I would be heart broken and miserable if she was killed driving, but I would have hope that she was in heaven. I would know for sure that she was in heaven! We would meet again at the banquet table set out be Jesus himself.

I just pray for those that have lost loved ones - sons, daughters, moms, dads, sisters and brothers. So many are affected when this happens. Yet, there is hope in Christ. How else could you get through it?

Blessings
Cyndee