Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Drive.

When I was 15 and began to drive, my family owned two big GMC vans and our old Ford Tempo. Now, the Tempo was far from fancy but it was usually drivable and my favorite of our vehicles to use. Much of my time learning to drive was spent in the vans though, and learning to get both of them in the garage helped me ace the maneuverability portion of my driving test. After I got my license I would avoid driving the vans as much as I could. When my sister would come home from college, however, the Tempo had to be shared and sometimes I would be left with a van to drive. I would whine and complain, making sure everyone knew how horrible it was to drive them. They were so big and bulky and harder to park and how many other high school students had to drive a giant van around? My family graciously endured my complaining, usually, with a little eye rolling and a few exchanged glances. Eventually we sold those two fans, the Tempo died and was replaced and life moved on. Occasionally my family would like to bring up my little temper tantrums over driving those vans, just to keep me humble.

Fast forward 8 years. I come over here, move into the dorm, and what do I drive now? Two big 9 passenger vans. God definitely has a sense of humor.

Now, there are a couple of differences. Instead of being GMC they are Mercedes. This sounds very classy but remember, this is Germany. The semi trucks and public buses here are Mercedes. Also, they are stick shift. An interesting new challenge to my driving skills that I have grown to thoroughly enjoy. Finally, I'm not in flat, laid out in square miles, Ohio anymore. I live 10 kilometers from school and the nearest grocery store, up a mountain road that has 60 some curves in it.

This is a link to the blog of one of my friends who is a RA at Sonne, the dorm across the street. He made a time lapse video this fall of the drive down to town. For a portion of it you can even see me driving Junior, our white van. I think it's pretty sweet, so check it out.


It's funny, even though driving is a challenge here, I have come to love it. There were a lot of new rules to learn and the whole system of roads is different but after adjusting to that it is fun. It's a good thing that I enjoy driving because I drive a lot. Grocery shopping, airport and train station runs, visiting friends, picking up dinner, going to meetings, soccer practices, or the school, I get to drive a big van to all of these. I especially love driving with my girls. Sometimes we go with the music blaring, singing at the top of our lungs, with the windows down (when the weather permits). When we're tired of the CD's in the van and there's nothing but German songs on the radio the volume goes down. Sometimes we talk and sometimes we're all lost in our own thoughts. These times are sweet though. Catching up on the day, Christmas break, or just enjoying the beautiful drive back to the dorm. I love these times.

H, B, K, and I are about to head down the hill. We're in Junior even though it looks a bit like a fishbowl.


I didn't expect to drive as much as I do but I look back and see how God prepared me in His own way for this. After parking two big GMC's in a little garage, the small German parking spaces aren't quite as intimidating as they might have been. After driving a big Suter's box truck on small country roads and highways, the narrow German country roads aren't very scary. I look back and laugh at how much I hated and complained about those two vans, knowing now that God saw the big picture of my life. It makes me wonder what else I complain about in my life today that God has brought at this time to prepare me for what is still to come.

So there's a little snapshot into part of what I do here. There are some exciting things coming up here. This weekend is High School Retreat and we are headed to Lenk, Switzerland. The whole high school will go and stay in a Chalet together. We'll have sessions, small group time, and free time to go skiing, snowboarding, sledding, ice skating, or just hang out and relax. Pray that God uses this time to draw everyone there, both staff and students, closer to Him. Also pray that relationships and friendships will be built and strengthened. Then on Monday, soccer starts! I'm coaching again this year and very excited for the season. I love getting outside, putting on my cleats again, and getting to know new girls. I'm learning so much about how to coach and often feel inadequate for the job, but it's a process and I enjoy it. Thanks for all your support and I love to hear back from you about how you are doing!

Peace.

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