Who knew that all the years and wondering what God’s plan for me would end up simply going to trucking school?

“Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” – Isaiah 43:18-19

“You mean, all I have to do is not crash the truck?!” Sold.

I am home for the weekend after attending (and passing!!) trucking school in Jackson, MS, for the last three weeks.

I am humbly proud to say that I successfully did something brand new and foreign and gained my CDL Class A through my husband’s company. The affiliated college put students in a hotel, paid for tuition via a one-year company contract, and my six-week trainer could be my husband after graduating. I had nothing to lose in this situation and just put on my big girl pants and did big scary things like going to trucking school in a foreign place. It was three weeks of concentrated learning, meaning after two days, I was thrown into a semi-truck and holding on to the steering wheel for dear life.

They took us on the road the first day to get the jitters out, and I chose to drive second. I didn’t think this choice through because I had to navigate out of a truck stop and then merge onto I-20.
“I have to merge on that?!?”
“What do you think? How are you going to drive through Atlanta?”

It was a definite sink-or-swim course. Trucking school has no emotions, and the instructors expect you to know how to drive a semi-truck in five minutes. You are also to learn the truck’s parts and name them all verbally, along with truck procedures. I did this with a lot of studying and hands-on help via my husband’s semi-truck and FaceTime dates.

I aimed to gain my permit at home and then apply for the school before August. I did not know what to expect and was pretty nervous about going somewhere brand new, but I am so thankful for listening to God’s urging when I did. I had an excellent class with a wonderful environment. My class was split between girls and guys about 50/50, so there was not too much estrogen or testosterone either way. The week that started after me was a younger, tougher-looking crowd full of men, and I did not feel like I would have been as comfortable. Not only was my class a supportive environment, but I also had an incredible roommate with whom I got along wonderfully. My first roommate was packing her stuff up when I walked in because she had a license issue and was sent home. I told myself, “God doesn’t remove something without replacing it with something better”. My second roommate arrived shortly after the other one left, and my prayer was right. I tried being as nice as possible, and she did the same. In fact, we are hoping to be roommates again for orientation when we arrive at the better hotel paid for by the company.

She even bought a plaque from Hobby Lobby that had Philippians 4:6 written on it, and I read it out loud a couple of days before our tests.

I know I do not look like I belong in a trucking school. The instructors talked to each other and brought up couples team driving several times to me concerning divorce. I know they have seen how too much together can ruin a relationship. I tried not to let it get to me, and when I told Ryan, he said, “How many of those relationships were centered on Christ?”

About the third day, the chatter stopped, and Ryan said it was because I proved myself. I went to school, remained quiet yet kind, and did my best. When my instructor brought up team driving fails again, I stated I was motivated to pass and told my husband that we were to treat each other like coworkers and that I would try my best not to fight with him chronically. I quietly impressed them with my verbal tests by thoroughly naming every part of the truck and all the procedures. I aced it with help from my amazing husband and our FaceTime pre-trip dates. Because Jesus took the wheel for my driving test, I did not need extra pull-ups or get-outs and looks, so I did not get any points against me! I nailed all my maneuvers and did not hit any curbs or lines while driving. While backing for my test, I was straight in the middle of the cones when I kept getting crooked during the week in practice and had to fix myself. The good part was that I learned HOW to fix my mistakes, so I was not afraid of being crooked.

I perfectly set up my truck for the “90” backing for my test. I whipped my truck around and used my given pull-up to fix my crooked truck. All that was left was to “straight back”. When I backed up, I jumped out of the truck (using three points of contact) to check my trailer, only to find I was perfectly in between my cones. I was right where I needed to be. My tester said in his southern drawl, “I would go toot my horn if I were you” meaning I nailed it. I did not need to back up any further. I calmly walked back to my truck, stood on the steps, and tooted my air horn to say this maneuver was complete.

I could not set myself up for one of my backing maneuvers, which meant it would have failed me if I had gotten that maneuver for my test. I could back up perfectly in the spot, but I could not set my truck up first. Because failure was not an option, during our practices, I got out of the truck, went right up to my instructor, who was talking to the other one, and said, “Could someone help me?” after feeling like they were talking about me not knowing what I was doing. I was not going to be intimidated by anyone. I was here to pass. My instructor did help me, and I am assuming because I was doing well, he realized I was not shown how to do it properly by the others the day before. He walked me through it, and I could do it 100% correctly for my test. I was also the shortest in my class, so I had trouble seeing the cones. For this particular maneuver, I simply raised my seat up to drive the loop and then lowered it when I had to use my pedals more.

I named everything properly for my driving test, said all of the procedures, and nailed my driving test. However, there is always a story…

My goal was to work quietly and prove that though I did not look like I belonged there, I was not there by the coercion of my husband. I was there because I was motivated to be successful on my own and happened to have an encouraging husband who is also a truck driver. I am sure they see much of that; women either riding on their boyfriend’s or husband’s coattails and not really wanting to do it themselves. Or they cannot grasp it. However, it turns out that the last thirty years of being stressed about God’s plan for my life ended up just backing up a semi-truck.

For my driving test, I nearly left my license in my dirty pants pocket at the hotel, but thankfully because Ryan was there for training, he said he would do the laundry. I had my dirty laundry in my car in the parking lot and was able to (hysterically) run to my car to get it when I realized they were not in my wallet. After this fiasco, I used the bathroom. However, the entire test, from verbal, backing, and road drive, was going to be over an hour long. One bathroom trip was not enough between coffee, water, and nerves. I got through the verbal test and should have asked the instructor if I could use the bathroom before getting on the road. I did not. I figured it was nerves, and it would pass soon. This did not happen. Twenty minutes into my 40-minute drive, I realized this was going to be an emergency. At my last arrow light, before going to the school, there was an accident blocking the lane I had to get into from my highway yield lane.
“Ahh!!”
My instructor said to stop, pull over, and wait. I did so.

At the light up the street, I realized the emergency of my bladder. This test was about to be embarrassing. All I had to do was get through this light, and I was on my way to school. But, there was a semi-truck first, which meant I had to wait for a light cycle because I couldn’t complete the turn as my light was going to turn yellow.

I start tapping my foot.

My instructor obviously thought I was stressed from the accident I had just passed and said, “Calm down. Breathe.”

I looked at him and replied, “I have to use the bathroom!”

“Oh. I can’t help you there.”
“I’m just praying I can make it back to school.”
“Me, too!”

I made my turn without hitting any lines, curbs, or trucks. I asked, “Will I fail my test if I jump out of this truck when we get to the school??”
“No. You pull into the parking lot, park at the cones, and go do your business. I’ll park the truck and meet you in the hallway.”

My dad said, “I prayed for favor for you. You didn’t even have to park the truck??”

I ran to the bathroom and met my instructor in the hall. The director was also in there; my instructor showed him my test scores, and they both raised their eyebrows. My instructor said, “Aren’t you going to tell him about your straight backing?”
Me: “I used my mirrors?!?”
The instructor: “You hit your head when you checked the tires.”

Yes. I checked for my straight tires, but my window was not down. I banged my head on the driver’s window and added that to my pre-trip.

“We know the windows are clean because I hit my head on it earlier.”

“Yes. I did do that and also did not have a bathroom emergency.”

I call this a success.

As I was walking to the office with the director for my paperwork, he simply said, “That was a pretty good test this morning.”

While I could not see my test scores due to state policy, I must have passed with flying colors and excellent scores and by the grace of God.

My favorite part of all this was Ryan passed through Jackson and was able to have lunch with me my first week. My classmates told me how nice he was and that we are perfect for each other. If they only knew the story! The following week was his training on being a trainer, and I saw him the day before my test; we had a dinner date at Pigs and Pints, and he studied with me.

I am so thankful to God for this opportunity and for giving me the peace and calmness to get through it. I am thankful for a wonderful class and an overall excellent experience. I am humbly proud of myself for trying something brand new.

I will end this post the only proper way I can: “… and eerrythang is properly mounted and secured…”