I’ll never forget my first fender bender. I was 19 at the time when my boss lent me his ’94 Pontiac Bonneville as a company car. Man, I thought I was cool.
Pulling into the parking lot of our local sports gear store, I spotted a parking space at the front. So I cut through a parking stall to go from one aisle to the next. As I pulled out of the stall and into the next aisle, I hit another driver.
Fortunately nobody was hurt, but I was pretty shook up. That day I learned parking lots were more dangerous than I realized. I also learned that when getting into an accident while operating someone else’s vehicle, you should definitely notify them before their insurance company does.
Twenty years later this lesson has stuck with me. And it’s a good thing because I’ve got seven kids. Whenever our family goes out, I have to warn my kids to stay together instead of sprinting wildly across the parking lot in multiple directions.
My kids must think that “park” is short for “parking lot” because they just don’t see what’s so dangerous about the 4,000-pound metal boxes rolling around everywhere. Not only do they not recognize danger, but they practically sprint toward it.
This is reminiscent of Proverbs 22.3 where Solomon says that “a sensible person sees danger and takes cover, but the inexperienced keep going and are punished.”
Very simply put — prudence prevents pain. Prudence is the ability to anticipate danger. And unfortunately, those who are young are in for a world of hurt unless they have someone with them who’s already been where they are.
If you’re a student reading this, then you need to put your parents over your peers. Your parents have already been where you are and they know the pain that comes with making mistakes. Your friends really don’t. Friends are for fun. Parents are for prudence.
My oldest son just got his learner’s permit (don’t worry, we’ve already had the parking lot talk). He’s getting most of his experience driving on back roads for now. While sitting in the passenger seat, I find myself constantly looking ahead for any potential dangers on the road. Not because I want to be obnoxious, but because I’m the one with all the experience. I want the pain from my past mistakes to become my son’s prudence.
The lesson here is that the Gospel redeems your pain by giving you the chance to turn it into your child’s prudence.
Parents carry the responsibility of passing down prudence and wisdom to their children. So, pass down your prudence by creating memorable cautionary tales from your mistakes. You can’t always drive for your kids. But you can tell them about your fender benders. And if you do, they just might end up with fewer dents in their car and fewer dings to their insurance. Or their boss’s.
Andrew and Kristy Miller, along with their seven children, live in Sterling and serve at Sterling Baptist Church located at the corner of Swanson River Road and the Sterling Highway. Family worship is at 11 a.m. on Sundays.
