Parkview Lockport Blog

True Confessions of a First Time Dad: I Drive Slower Now

My best friend and I used to be maniacs when it came to driving back home. Neither of us had cars that were lighting fast, but we sure thought they were.  How could you not when one of us had a S10 Pickup and the other had a Ford Bronco II!?  I mean, those are the definition of speed and handling in my book.

Regardless of what we were driving, there was no question that how we were driving was a little nutty.  We had an itch for that feeling in the pit of your stomach when you're on the borderline of flipping your car as you tuck around the corners of the winding roads we lived on.  Looking back we put ourselves and others in some serious danger by our road antics, but at the time we didn't think about that stuff.

Advance a few chapters in life to the present day and things are different.

Adding Aniston into the equation of life has made many things change for me including how I drive.  I'm sure all of us can remember driving home from the hospital for the first time with our new born baby and honestly feeling like you were driving your car in an episode of Star Wars with how fast the cars seemed to pass you by.  You'd lay on your horn and yell "slow down psycho!" as you literally travel slow enough that an old lady walking backwards could pass you.

But it's not just that trip that slows your driving roll.  You are forever more aware of stop signs, red lights, yellow lights, and school zones than you ever were before.  Looking both ways is not good enough when entering and intersection.  No, now you ask your wife to confirm that it is safe to drive through and you don't even mind the double check! 

For heaven's sake, I even use cruise control in town so I don't accidently go Dale Earnhardt Jr. on someone that cuts me off. 

I've changed the way that I drive because there is something greater at stake than me now.  I've slowed down because I want to enjoy the moments I have with Aniston even if it means getting somewhere 7 seconds slower.  I don't think any parents would argue this to a man, but would our actions match our words?

Allow me to carry this analogy beyond the roadways.  Parents or those who desire to be parents one day, how has/will your life slow down for your family?

• Dads, do our kids know how much we love them all the time or is it only when Fantasy Football isn't in season?
• Moms, is your anxiety about how they are dressed, what kids will think, if they'll skin their knees, or how they feel after that girl broke his heart keeping your from enjoying the brief time you have them?
• Parents, has the pursuit of "giving them more than you had" come at the cost of giving them less of us physically, emotionally and spiritually?

I really hope that when I utter the phrase "wow, she grew up fast!" I'll be able to quickly pull up tons of memories with Aniston.  But I know some of you will struggle to remember even a few because you will have lived life never slowing down long enough to make any. 

I pray that today you are able to pull back the zoom lens of life to 30,000 feet and see what your life really looks like.  Then take the bold step of slowing down.  Not in a lazy, playing video games all day kind of slowing down, but in a getting rid of the unnecessary, self-induced, frantic pace of life kind of way.  

You'd be surprised what you will see when life isn't a blur in your rearview mirror.  

Daniel and the Lion's Den -- The After Party

"At the king’s command, the men who had falsely accused Daniel were brought in and thrown into the lions’ den, along with their wives and children. And before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones." - Daniel 6:24

Now, before I touch on this verse I'd really love for you to read the rest of Daniel 6 so you have some context, but if you can't here are the cliff notes.

In one of the most ironic and odd Bible stories we tell our children before they go to bed, this is the classic story of Daniel and the lion's den. 

Daniel is a highly regarded prophet of God and a really, really, really good one at that.  At this time in his life he is a high ranking administrator and because of his success not well liked by some people.  As a result, his critics look to catch him breaking a law they convinced the King to pass banning the kingdom from praying to anyone except the king for the next 30 days. 

Daniel being a strong man of Faith did not budge in his devotion to God and as a result was sentenced to be eaten alive by lions.  The king himself was anguished at having to do this, but the law he passed was unshakable.  So down in the pit of lions Daniel went for the night as the king went home to try and sleep. 

At the break of day, Scripture says, the king rushed back and found Daniel still alive in the den.  Daniel's exact response was "O king, live forever!  my God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions.  They have no hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight.  Nor have I ever done any wrong before you,O king." (Can you see why this dude was loved? :) )

However, here is where we jump into the verse above. 

After hugging Daniel and most likely apologizing for the whole lion thing, he turns his attention to the yahoos that forced the king's hand to kill this Godly man.

As we read, the punishment seemed almost fitting.  Take the punishment you tried to inflict on an innocent man and apply it the person who deserves it.  However, we notice that it wasn't just the men that suffered the punishment.  It was the entire family that was mauled by the lions and whose bones were crushed.

Now wait a minute.  That doesn't seem fair.  What did the kids and wives do?

In that culture this was very common.  You see, it all came down to eliminating any and all threats to the throne.  So instead of killing just the men and running the risk of the sons growing up to seek retribution, the king just eliminated everyone involved so he didn't have to worry about keeping up with all the offspring. 

So as a result the family of these men also received the punishment for their actions.  They were collateral damage. 

Don't kid yourself.  This still happens all the time today.

Families and loved ones suffering the consequences of someone else's actions, mistakes, slip-ups, decisions...sin.  Lives mauled to pieces as collateral damage.

• It’s the couple that gets a divorce because they "fell out of love" who have to watch as their kids are turned to dust through the process.
• It’s the husband that decides to gamble his paychecks away thinking it will only affect him who then has to live through the "lions" of distrust and financial ruin along with his wife.
• It’s the teenager who believes that "everyone is drinking so I should too” who soon finds out that going to college or getting a job is a lot harder with a DUI and a criminal record.  Not to mention the devastation of a mom who just had to post bail for their child.

We do not live life in a vacuum.  Our actions, decisions, and their effects are not isolated to only us.  They ripple out to many, many, many more people. 

Without a doubt we should desire to remove sin in our life for the sake of our relationship with Christ, but additionally we should be spurred on by the families we love. 

I don't know of anyone that would be excited to see a hungry lion being brought home.