So many times I've jumped into my car--whether in a hurry to be somewhere or on a spontaneous urge to do something--turned on the engine, and pulled out onto the road without so much as a glance at the various gauges, lights, and other indicators on the dashboard in front of me. I could easily have not noticed that the gas tank was near empty, or that the maintenance-needed warning light was on. I know better, but sometimes I'm just too busy to bother.

One evening my husband Darren and I were going out to a movie. By the time we had arranged for a babysitter to watch our son and gotten ourselves ready, we were running late.

"Do you think we'll still make the movie?" I asked my husband through puckered lips, still applying my lipstick.

"Yes," he answered, "but only if we leave this minute."

"Okay! I'm ready," I said, turning back towards the mirror. "I just have one more thing to do."

"I'll be in the car," He replied.

The New Year had just rolled in, and we had made one big new commitment to each other and Jesus: We wanted to grow in our relationship with Him by including Him more in our daily lives. To accomplish this, we had committed to pause before beginning each new activity, either together or separately, to acknowledge Him in our hearts, tell Him what we had planned, and then listen to His "whispers" of guidance so He could better influence our actions. This would have been a perfect situation to apply our New Year's resolution, but...

It's just that we're already running late! I argued with my conscience.

Come on! It's too soon to fall off the program! the better part of me chided.

I paused to pray.

"We can go now," I said as I hopped in the car. "We just need to be careful and keep our eyes open for anything unusual."

"Okaaay...," my husband replied, slightly bewildered.

"It's what the Lord told me when I prayed about our trip," I explained.

He remembered our New Year's resolution and nodded.

Seconds later we heard a clunk as we pulled out of our driveway.

"What was that?"

It might seem strange that Jesus would want or even have time to get involved in such small details of our lives, but He does.

"Don't know."

We were down the block before I noticed a warning light on the dashboard. It was the oil light!

"Honey, why is that light on?" I asked.

"Boy, I don't know! Let's pull over."

The gas station on the corner was well lit. Darren pulled in. He could see oil leaking from the engine, which was beginning to sputter. We had no idea what was wrong and there was no mechanic on duty, so we headed home slowly. By the time we were back in our driveway, the engine was stuttering violently.

The next day we took the car to our mechanic, who explained what had happened. The oil filter had come loose and fallen off. Every bit of oil had drained from the engine. "It's a miracle that your car is still running fine. If you had driven any farther without oil, you would have completely ruined the engine!"

We told him how our New Year's resolution had helped us notice the problem when we did.

"Wow!" he remarked after hearing our story, "That is pretty unusual!"

Let's pray that "unusual" becomes second nature, I thought.

We missed our movie that night, but we spared ourselves a huge problem and expense, and the importance of our resolution and the new habits we needed to form in order to keep it were forever impressed in our minds.

Often now when I realize I've raced through an hour, day, or week without pausing to include the Lord in my activities, I think of that little red light on the dashboard of our car.

It might seem strange that Jesus would want or even have time to get involved in such small details of our lives, but He does. He is ready, willing, and able to be involved in each of our lives in a very personal way.

Sad to say, though, sometimes when we do remember and take the time to pray, we already have our own plans and simply want God's blessing. That doesn't work, either. Our plan may be good, but we can end up missing the mark if He has a better plan for us at that time.

I've found that if I specifically ask the Lord what my plan should be, then God can bless and care for me more fully because then His plan can become my plan. The more perfectly I align my agenda with His by listening to and following His signals, whether it's a red, yellow, or green light, the safer and smoother my way will be.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye" (Psalm 32:8). "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, 'This is the way'" (Isaiah 30:21).

Claire Nichols is a fulltime volunteer with The Family in the USA.