[This reflection by Helen Ruffhead was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 13/Aug/2023]
‘Recently I swapped my old car for a newer one. As a technophobe, who finds driving stressful, I had been putting this off for months, until a frozen left shoulder forced me to trade in my manual for an automatic.
When I first sat in the new car and saw all the unfamiliar gadgets, a feeling of pure panic swept over me, tempting me to give up driving and make good use of my bus pass. Then I remembered the lesson learnt nearly 50 years ago when I had CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy): if you force yourself to stay in a stressful situation the feeling of panic will eventually pass and the more you face up to your fears the easier it gets. This has proved true for me in so many situations, although some fears still persist.
Learning a new way of driving has reminded me how difficult it is to replace old habits with new ones. Usually I remember that I am driving an automatic, but in times of stress, like having to brake suddenly, my left foot will still stamp on the non-existent clutch and my hand reach for the gear lever.
In our Christian life, when we try to replace old habits like impatience with godly habits like patience and love, it is in times of stress that the old habits rear their ugly heads and remind us how far we still have to go.
One of the hardest things to get used to in the new car is the parking sensors, especially when getting the car into my small garage. Although I carefully chose a car that was no bigger than the old one, having the parking sensors shriek at me makes me much more aware of the tiny gap when getting the car through the garage door. I could perhaps turn off the sensors or just try to ignore them, but I know that they serve a useful purpose and I need to work with them.
They reminded me of the way our conscience works, making us feel uncomfortable when we are in danger of going astray. Like the parking sensors, these feelings are unpleasant and it is all too easy to try to ignore them, or even switch them off altogether, instead of using them to guide us.
The Bible says:
By rejecting conscience, certain persons have made shipwreck of their faith.
1 Timothy 1 v19 [RSV]
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Last week’s reflection: Be Still – A Great Awakening? by Brian Alton
Contributed by Helen Ruffhead; © Helen Ruffhead