Driving Home

For Andrea Vij, a ride in the car with her son draws parallels to a much more significant journey.

How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few. (Matthew 7:14) 

“You took that corner a little fast, pumpkin.” 

“I know. Sorry.” 

I gaze out the passenger window of my Toyota RAV4 as my 15-year-old son drives us home. He’s improved a lot since last summer when I first took him to the area outside the stadium to practice steering, parking, and backing up. The task of teaching him to drive has fallen mainly upon me for practical reasons: first, I’m already the parent who takes him everywhere, and second, my husband’s Volvo wagon handles like a barge on the Mississippi — not the best vehicle for learning.  

We make a left at the fire station. Traffic is backed up at the four-way stop, but my son handles it well. “It’s hard to go the speed limit on this street,” he observes as we break away from the other cars. “This hill is kind of steep.” 

“Don’t worry about it. Just go with the traffic.” 

Go with the traffic. It’s good advice for a busy street, but not for real life. I pray that my son will grow up with the courage to go against the flow, to be his own man — a brave, truth-seeking, God-fearing man.  

Hazards of the Road 

I remember my own fifteenth year, learning to drive, getting my first job, attending the same Catholic high school as my son. For a time, I fell in with a group of friends who led me in a direction that I wouldn’t want him to go. He’s a great kid, but I know all too well what can happen, even to kids with good parents like I had. It’s hard to control all the influences he faces every day, the obstacles, the hazards, the detours. My husband and I often discuss the best way to guide a teenager to adulthood.  

“Choose your battles. Don’t go after him about which socks he wants to wear. Save it for something important.”   

“The best thing we can do is give him a good example.” 

“Let him make mistakes. It’s the only way to learn.” 

But shouldn’t we do more to protect him? How will he find his way in such a complicated world? And what about all the people who would lead him the wrong way? How will he discern the truth and remember that he was made by God for eternity in heaven?  

The Narrow Gate 

We approach our house and he reaches up, eyes on the road while his right hand searches for the garage-door opener. With only his left hand on the wheel, he angles the RAV a little too sharply onto the driveway. He recovers quickly, though, and eases us toward the garage, the final challenge of our journey. It’s a tight fit, this narrow gate, and every time we enter, I worry that he won’t make it, that he’ll creep too far one way or the other, scraping the Volvo on the right or catching the driver’s side mirror on the left. Despite my fears, however, he manages to stick the landing, just as he has done each time before. In the face of everything that could go wrong, my son has made it home.  

All too soon the day will come when we’ll have to hand him the car keys and send him off on his own. It won’t be easy to let him go. But with our prayers and the grace of God to guide him, I have hope that he will find his way. 

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Copyright 2025 Andrea Vij
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