My Problem

"You're driving a computer," my husband said one night as we were discussing the electronics on my car.  I was the girl who held out the longest when the great "driving while holding onto your cell phone" debate began, oh so many years ago.

I thought it was such a stupid idea.  Who would think they could drive while holding onto a phone?  It's still a stupid idea, because now we don't simply hold onto our phones, but we fuss with our car's computer screen as well, which is even worse.

You see, I think this is all a bad idea when you have a brain that operates the way mine does. It's like my thinking is "internally visual," so I could easily be concentrating on something other than my driving, "seeing what I am thinking about"--if I am not careful.  

But I am learning to be careful, very careful.  You see, the problem is that when you drive a computer that tells you if you are crossing a line, or if you are too close to the car in front of you, or automatically slows you down on cruise control, it could make you just stop thinking altogether.  (I know, they are creating cars now that almost make that possible.)

The other problem is that you have to learn all of this stuff so you know what your car is doing when it automatically shuts down and starts up in traffic, flips your headlights between high and low beam, and has a million choices when it comes to tuning in the radio, using a usb port or making a call.

My husband was right, though.  When you drive a computer, the one thing for sure is that the place to learn about your computer is not while you are driving it! I saw a show one time that tested how long a person's eyes were off the road while fussing with their phone, and it was surprisingly a very long time.

But here's my real problem--my husband is willing to read the multiple books that tell everything about the car.  Me?  I will either look it up when I need to know something, or I will ask him to look it up and tell me.

Sad, I know, but that's how I operate.  That's my problem.  The truth is, I could read all of the manuals I want, but until I am actually in the driver's seat using the cruise control, the description and picture in the book are of no use to me whatsoever.

So there you have it.  My car confession.

Oh Confession!  I almost forgot.  I was teaching on this beautiful Sacrament recently and had the opportunity to talk about the seal of the confessional.  Did you know that when a Catholic goes to Confession, the priest cannot--ever--tell anyone what was said there?  Not even if you committed murder!

What happens in Confession is that the love and mercy of God is poured out on us, and God, through the Priest, in the Person of Christ in the Sacrament, forgives your sins.  It makes you a new person!

So just remember, the next time you are driving on autopilot, that is not the way you want to drive through life.  Pay attention to what you are doing so that when, in the confessional, you ask God's forgiveness for your sins, you can honestly say you have been paying attention and can identify them!

And, just one more thing. Confession is great when you have crossed a line.  Maybe when it comes to sinning, we need one of those alerts like my car has, to warn me to get back in my lane and straighten my course.

I'm not complaining, of course. I really like my car with all of its bells and whistles and I really like Confession, too.  I'm just glad a bell doesn't go off whenever I confess my sins.  

That, I wouldn't like at all.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.com
#carcomputer
#sacramentofconfession
#driving