Does God Have A Sense Of Humor? – By Inisher Collins
A few years ago, we celebrated our family reunion on my mother’s side. A host of family members arrived by bus from Chicago, IL. It was a large charter bus.
As I walked past the bus to my car, I thought, “I believe I can drive this bus.” I then walked onto the bus and had a brief conversation with the bus driver about the requirements for driving a bus this size. I took in the steering wheel, the large accelerator, and the bus’s other mechanics.
I thought no more of this idea until one morning (a year later), when I woke up exhausted and I didn’t know why. It was as though I had not slept at all. Then it came to mind: I dreamed I was learning how to drive a bus. It was so surreal. I must have been practicing driving all night. My body was super tired the next morning. I remember, while driving, keeping the bus within the driving lanes and adjusting my sideview mirrors. I even felt a paralyzing fear of getting into tight spaces.
After playing this scenario over and over in my mind, I said, “Lord, why am I dreaming about driving a bus?”
He didn’t answer, but He must have been laughing!
The driving lessons continued and became more intense. I became cautious about driving on main thoroughfares and avoided dead-end streets so I wouldn’t have to back up. I began relying more on my sideview mirrors and judging my distance to other cars, especially when making a turn. Again, waking up exhausted, I said, “OK, Lord, what does this all mean? Why am I driving this bus?” I can imagine Him laughing out loud, but still no reply.
My driving lessons continued until I learned how to back up, keep the bus straight, and then park. Each morning I woke up feeling physically and mentally exhausted. I remember once saying, “Lord, I am so tired, and I’ve got to go to work. These driving lessons are keeping me up all night.” I’m not sure when I stopped having these dreams, but as suddenly as they began, they stopped.
Five years later (now self-employed), I began calling on area businesses. I approached a Crisis Pregnancy Center. Although they weren’t interested in the business plan I offered, the Director said they were looking for qualified people to fill job positions. When I asked, she said they were running a pilot program and looking for a mobile driver (women’s center on wheels) to serve young pregnant women in the community. Although I wasn’t looking for employment at that time, I sensed God may be calling me to another ministry. I went to my car and gave her my resume.
A few weeks later, I received a telephone call from the HR Director to set up an interview. After the interview, I asked if I could see a picture of the mobile. In my mind, I pictured a small mobile, like a mini school bus or that of a small ice cream truck. However, when I saw the picture of a 34 ft mobile RV, I chuckled to myself. The RV was similar to the one pictured below. When asked why I was laughing, I shared that I had private, nightly driving lessons and that I felt exhausted whenever I woke up.
A few weeks later, the Director took me out for my first driving lesson in the mobile RV. It was raining as we drove into the parking lot of a large church. It was a challenge initially, a bit overwhelming, I might add, as it was my turn to sit in the captain’s seat to drive. I adjusted my two side-view mirrors and focused on staying in my lane. It always looked as though I was driving too far to the right, then too far to the left. As I began using my backup camera and side mirrors together, I felt more confident and relaxed. After I mastered driving within the lanes in the parking lot and backing up, my Instructor thought I was ready to drive on the street. Imagine that! As I drove through a busy intersection into a residential area, I made sure not to drive down streets that had a dead end or were narrow. Although I was still nervous, I was finally able to adjust with the use of my backup camera and my two side mirrors, all the things God taught me in my dream.
The next day, I drove through the city, avoiding narrow, dead-end streets. I drove to and from the hangar or storage facility where we kept the RV.
On the third day of taking the RV out, we were on I-70 E, driving to a Crisis Pregnancy Center 50 miles away. Amazingly, even the scenery was starting to look familiar, like déjà vu.
I couldn’t believe we were actually on the highway with less than a week of driving practice at the beginning of winter. Not only did my Director have confidence that I was ready to drive on the highway, but God also had confidence in me that I could drive that “Big thing”; after all, He put that dream in my heart and personally prepared me for the journey. It reminds me of the scripture, Joel 2:28: “I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions.”
Well, like I said in the beginning, God does have a sense of humor. If He hadn’t shown me I could drive that mobile RV, I might have doubted I could. Now, I wonder what He’s up to next; perhaps He’ll give me flying lessons.