He was beaming, and as I looked in the rear-view mirror I could see that he was enjoying himself…immensely. Our family recently purchased a “new to us” vehicle. After years of driving around in a variety of mini-vans, we were looking for something a little more “snappy,” preferably with four wheel drive because of our predictably harsh winters that often occur in our state.

My 16 year old son was very excited about our new acquisition. He passed his driving test with flying colors 6 months ago, and he is becoming a very careful and reliable driver. I could almost hear the thoughts that were swirling around in his head about the “coolness” of the new family SUV. I was excited about it too, but it was obvious that my boy was even more interested in moving into a sportier ride.

After making the purchase, getting the insurance lined up, and registering the vehicle, he and I made our way to the seller’s house where we would mount the license plates on our new Toyota and drive it away. En route to our destination he jokingly asked, “Well dad, do you want me to drive the new car home, or are you going to?” The look on his face told me that he already knew the answer, and had resigned himself to following me back in the older vehicle.

I had already thought about this particular trip that we were now taking, and my answer visibly shocked him. “I want you to drive the new car home,” I said with a smile. “Are you serious?” he excitedly asked. I smiled again and replied, “Yeah, I’m serious. I really want you to enjoy the experience of driving it home.” Because of my love for him, it wasn’t a sacrifice to throw him the keys.

I personally wanted to experience pulling into the driveway of our house, but the thought of my son’s enjoyment as he proudly commandeered our new “wheels” caused my desire to pale by comparison. I drove the older car and enjoyed every minute of watching him follow in my rear-view mirror. He was visibly smitten by the newness of it all, and when we finally arrived at home I was thrilled to hear him say, “Wow, that was awesome!”

“…it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35, KJV).

I was reminded of this truism once again, that when we truly love people, giving of ourselves isn’t drudgery; it’s a natural extension of our relationship with them.

Michael Temple writes from North Dakota.

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