Drinking And Driving

That moment in time, when your sixteen year-old son informs you that the friend he was driving with yesterday, got arrested for a D.U.I. That moment, when he tells you, so and so got arrested, when he was in the car with him. The panic, that floods a parent’s mind. The questions that race through your mind at 100 mph. Where did this happen? Are you kidding me? How did you get home? How do you know he was drinking? What did the police say? Are you kidding me? Why are you telling me this now? Were you drinking? Why did you get in the car with him if you thought he was drinking? Are you kidding me?

Having and raising children is the best thing you can ever do. Having and raising children is, sometimes, the most trying thing you can ever do. I looked at my son and told him he dodged a bullet when the police pulled them over. He said he knows that. He said he tried to stop the friend from driving. He pulled the keys out of the ignition and told him he didn’t think he should be driving. He took the keys away from the friend, about 5 times. But then the friend threatened to leave him, so he decided to get in the car anyways. Yeah, young minds sometimes don’t think too straight.

But God was there, with my son. Less than a mile from the beach, the cops pulled the car over. No time to get into an accident. We had just heard a message about angels, this morning, at church. Those cops saved my son’s life. How many times are kids in car accidents? How many of those are drinking and driving accidents? This boy was so drunk, the cops pulled him over as soon as he got on the streets. I don’t want to think about what could have happened. I’ve seen too many memorials around where teenagers have left this planet way too soon.

Was this why I was compelled every time my son left with this particular friend, to pray for him? Every time. Lord, please bring him safely home. The Holy Spirit was speaking to me again. He was telling me to pray for my son. He needs protection. And that’s all we can do for them. We raise them the best way we know how. We teach them the things of God. We believers give them the gospel message. And then, we pray, knowing that God loves them more than we do. Their lives are in God’s hands.

I’m glad my son got to see first hand what happens when you drink and drive. He first saw the lights of the police car behind them. He said he felt that fear you feel, that I’ve done something wrong. That’s when he said he started praying. Praying that this would work out for them. He saw the police come to the window, and ask the friend to get out of the car. He saw them tow the car away. The police asked if he had a way to get home. He walked back to the beach, leaving his intoxicated friend in the hands of the police.

When the pastor spoke on angels the morning, I looked over at my son and pictured him having quite a lot of them. Probably more so than me. I would imagine, God’s assigned at least 5 big strapping ones to my son. He needs them.

As a parent, that should be our job. Pray, pray, pray for our kids. It keeps us connected to God. We are bringing our children to the very throne of God through our prayers. So, Believer, every time you feel that nudge to pray, do. Maybe that’s why Paul says to “pray without ceasing.” We can’t be with our kids 24 hours a day, so pray for them. “Pray without ceasing.”