I spend a lot of time in my car. Part of this is because I have a fairly long commute to my job, and part of this is because I am a mom with active kids who love being involved in church, school, and extracurricular activities. Often, when people find out how quickly I put miles on my car, their eyes widen in astonishment. I almost immediately follow up with the comment that I try to redeem the time by using it in productive ways. Because of the number of hours that I drive, I have learned that there are a variety of ways that I can creatively use those minutes, and to increase my impact as a mom, wife, employee, and church member.
While your commute time may be far shorter than mine (or it may be longer!), it is always helpful to think about how we can use our time better. With that in mind, I am going to share some things I have learned along the way based on each of the roles mentioned above. Over the next four weeks (Lord-willing), I will highlight one specific role and share some things I have learned about how I use my time in the car to extend my Kingdom impact in the spheres of influence God has given me.
However, before I get to the specific roles, I wanted to share some general principles that anyone can use to redeem their time in the car.
Pray
Whether you are driving by yourself or with others, you can use the time in the car to pray. Our family’s practice is to pray when we are on the way somewhere as it helps to give us the right perspective and right attitude for whatever activity we are about to participate in. We also pray when we see someone in need or when we are talking about what has happened during the day. When I am by myself, the car is a great time to have extended conversations with God about a particular issue or concern. Rather than battling runaway thoughts about how things can go wrong, I take those concerns to God and ask Him for wisdom and grace.
Learn
Trips in the car are also great times to learn. With the media options available to us, we can listen to sermons, books, or a variety of other educational materials. We can also use the time to instruct our kids and to talk to them about creation, relationships, or current events. We have tackled spelling words in the car, memorized verses, and played guessing games to learn more about animals. In our fast-paced world, we often don’t even take 20 minutes a day to grow our mind, but even those amongst us who aren’t road warriors probably spend 20 minutes a day in the car. If you used this time to learn something new, over a year you would spend 7,300 hours on that subject. This is just short of the time that research suggests it takes to master something (10,000 hours).
Plan
Although short trips aren’t the best as planning sessions, extended time in the car can be. If my hubby and I are in the car without kids, we use the time to talk about our upcoming weeks and what things we need to add or remove from the calendar. I will often (mentally) plan my lessons in the car, giving me a jump on things when I need to make notes for upcoming teaching sessions. Additionally, my kids have learned that the time in the car is a great time to let us know what things that they would like added to our family schedule – whether that be trips to the zoo or inviting friends over for dinner.
Build Relationships
Whether you are spending 10 minutes in the car or are on a multiple-hour road trip, the time you spend in the automobile is a great time to build relationships with your fellow passengers. You can get a recap of their day or you can talk with them about their hopes and their plans for the future. I find that often my kids are more willing to share their struggles with me when we are talking in the car than if I try to ask them about them when they want to be playing with their toys. Additionally, you can use the time in the car to make (hands-free) phone calls and catch up with people that you may not have chatted with in a while. You could spend the time in the car listening to music or daydreaming, but how much more beneficial is it to use it to build relationships with people who you treasure or are ministering to?
Scripture teaches us that the time we will spend on Earth is limited. In fact, for each of one us, the days are numbered (Ps. 139:16) and there is nothing that we can do to add to that time (Mt. 6:27). Therefore, it is profitable to use the minutes that we have been given to grow in our relationship with God and with one another, and to maximize our effectiveness in ministry by making effective plans and engaging in ongoing learning. We may not think that the trip to the grocery store gives us these opportunities, but it does! And in the coming weeks, I hope to share more about specific ways we can use those car rides, short and long, for God’s glory. In the meantime, may we all be mindful of how we use each minute God has given us in order that our lives may give glory and honor to Him.
