Driving ... and praying

"I shouldn't have driven

You shouldn't have driven - but we got there ...

It's you and me and the Holy Ghost

On the road to dawn heading down the coast ..."

The Whitlams, 'Thank you (For Loving Me At My Worst)', 1999

I'm happy now - I found a reason to quote a Whitlams song. I know I have just picked what seem like random chunks of the song, but there is a purpose behind it.

I'm terrible at praying. Actually, that's probably the wrong way to put it - rather, I don't really do it that often. At uni I tried the whole praying without ceasing thing at times, which didn't work out, and it's just gone downhill from there.

I even think about praying eg. 'I should pray about that'. People will be in a pickle or be sharing something with me, and quite often I tell them I will pray for them. The intent is there, and I often think about praying for them beyond that encounter, but if I'm honest it may not go much farther than that.

I was driving to Canberra bright and early on Wednesday morning to spend some time at another one of our bakeries (ironically, during this trip, there was an incorrect media release made that the company I work for is not doing enough to reduce the sodium levels in its products - I wish I didn't see heaps of metaphors in that but I do). It's a long drive and my CD player has recently carked it. So I thought about praying - but then I turned the radio on instead.

God had other plans. Maybe He's getting sick of my pseudo promises. He found a way to stop the car - literally. My plans to make it to Canberra by 9am were dashed as I waited for the NRMA, then waited at a repairers, then found perhaps the only car to hire in the small town I happened to break down outside of.

As soon as I got back on my way I prayed for the next 60km.

It was only after that that I pulled out the iPod - and the Whitlams came on. Suitable song don't you think? God is even in my iPod.