This story is about Rachel and Rebeca and their decision to take the car for a joy ride.  All children grow up anticipating the opportunity to drive a car.  They watch their parents from the time they come home from the hospital until that blessed day when they get their driver’s license.  Sometimes the desire to drive a car is just too great.   This is that story.

We had just moved to Concord, California back in 1984.  It was a beautiful Saturday morning and I had decided to take my 1979 White Cutlass Supreme to get gas and a wash, with Rachel and Rebeca along for the ride.  The were, as always, in their car seats.

I had filled the car up with gas and pulled into the automated car wash and realized I needed tokens.   There was no one behind me and so I decided to run into the station and get the needed tokens.   I put the car in park, left it running (oh no!) and ran to to the station.  As I walked out of the station door, I see my car exiting the car wash and heading for the four lane highway.  I don’t believe I have ever moved as fast as I did at that time.  I ran around the back of the car, opened the driver side door, got in and hit the brakes hard, at the same time trying to keep the girls from hitting the dashboard in the car.  I stopped the car just before it entered that four lane highway.  Trust me when I say that my heart was pounding and I was sweating.  I then tried to piece together what had just happened.

This is how I believe it went down.  My two daughters (I believe they were almost 3 at the time), had decided that they had been watching long enough and it was time to try the driving experience.  They removed themselves from their car seats, one had a hold of the steering wheel and the other had put the car into drive.  They rolled the car through the car wash and were going for the four lane highway to make their escape.  That is when I arrived and stopped their fun.

I think of all the things that could have happened that day and I am grateful that they didn’t.  That I was able to see, run and stop that car is, in my eyes, one of those God giving miracles and I thank him that I still have my two daughters with me today.  We never know what can or will happen in our lives, but we can be grateful for what we have and the love we share today.