On Faith and L-Plates

I failed my driving test. Yep, after 13 years of driving without any tickets or accidents, I failed the test. It seems I couldn't back around that corner well enough. And I didn't look in my mirrors enough, so they say.

I could try to blame it on the system. They claim not to have quotas for their pass/fail rate, but each examiner's rate has to be approximately at the national rate, which is about 50/50. Seems like a quota to me.

But instead I think I'll do my best to be thankful. After all, I did learn some things from this first experience with a driving test in the UK. I learned that I need to practice backing around corners. I learned that for the next test I'll need to turn my head a bit every time I look in the mirror so that the examiner can see it. And I learned that it's so much better to trust God for the outcome rather than dread the test just because I don't know what the outcome will be.

See, I scheduled the test about several weeks ahead of time. And for the first few weeks, I got scared every time I thought about taking the test. I nearly panicked. I lost sleep, paced, cried, and was just silly over it. Because if I didn't pass, our car insurance would go up by 40% and I'd have to have those silly L-plates on my car! Then I came to the end of my rope, threw my hands up, and said, "All right! This is dumb and getting me nowhere." I decided that I would just do my best on the test, and have faith about the outcome. Meaning that, whichever way it went, it would be all right, and the Koalaman and I would pull through.

Ahhhh... peace. I completely relaxed after that. I didn't lose any more sleep, I didn't panic, I didn't cry. Well, I almost cried when the examiner told me I failed. But I wasn't nervous before the test, or even during it. It felt like I was taking someone out for a drive on a sunny day in our lovely little yellow Mini. It was wonderful. And it still is! Even though I didn't pass, I learned a great thing about faith and trust. And as it turns out, the insurance did not go up by 40%, since I'm in the process of getting my license.

I firmly believe that God plans the absolute best for his children. It's up to us to take it or not. Just remind me of that next time I freak out.