Collision Course
Theme of the Week: The Tack to Take with Teens
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
 1 of 1
Key Bible Verse: What gives us hope and joy? It is you! … you are our pride and joy (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). Bonus Reading: Hebrews 12:9-11
My friend Jim Lemon told me about watching his son, Steve, just turned 16, back out of the driveway for an unsupervised excursion into town in the family car. Jim's comment blew me away: "Sylvia and I are praying that Steve has a minor car accident, a fender bender to get his attention." Most teens, he explained, feel invincible. "Steve needs a reminder of how dangerous a car can be and how vigilant he needs to be while driving."
Ten years later I received a call from my wife. "Missy's just had an accident," Bobbie reported, her voice shaking.
"Is she okay?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied, "but the car isn't drivable. Can you meet us?"
Driving to the site, I remembered Jim's prayer for Steve. This was my chance to show Missy that her welfare was far more important than the car's condition. When I arrived, I walked straight to Missy without even looking at the damage. Missy threw her arms around me and sobbed. "I'm so sorry, Daddy. I'm so sorry."
I readily forgave Missy—now the safest driver in our family. Frankly, our car was never the same. That confounded right rear tire never realigned properly. Thankfully, Missy and her daddy were never the same either.
—Robert Wolgemuth in Daddy@Work
My Response: Am I willing to let my teen fail in order to grow?
Thought to Apply: No young man believes he shall ever die. —William Hazlitt (English writer)
Adapted from Daddy@Work (Zondervan, 1999) by permission.
Copyright © 2008 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.
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I need Your wisdom, Lord, to adjust my parenting style from director of children to encourager and shaper of emerging adulthood for youths.
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