I didn't see him fast
enough.
Fast being the pivotal
word in this whole story.
I was motoring through
the beautiful state of Georgia, securely in a line of fast (there's that word
again) moving automobiles.
I mean it was a NASCAR type of experience.
And then I saw the
flashing lights off to the side of the road...
Some poor guy just
wasn't as versed in the art of radar avoidance as myself...
And then the lights
(along with the officer and his car) pulled back onto I-75...
Now here is the part
of the story where I want to give proper credit to the great State of Georgia. I think it shows great fiscal
responsibility to set out to help the fine people of Georgia bounce back from
this terrible economy through the generous donations of Spring Break Sojourners
(afflicted with a lead foot).
I want to commend my
fellow drivers who happened to be behind me.
Evidently they saw the
officer a little before I did and began the process of slowing down a tad
quicker, leaving a gap the perfect size for the patrol car to get behind me.
Now those flashing
lights were filling my rearview mirror - like the lights on the midway of the
Cursed Carnival of Traffic Citations.
Pull over – check.
License and
registration – check.
My three daughters laughing
and jockeying for who would get the privilege of telling Mom – check.
And then the officer
threw a curve at me.
Instead of asking me
if I knew why he had pulled me over,
He asked me why I was
driving over the speed limit.
Thankfully, the last
strand (and rarely used) remnant of common sense I possess kept me from telling the
officer that I was drafting.
And in this moment I
had another moment.
While the officer was
back at his car, I talked with my 3 daughters about what grace looks like.
Dad had broken the law. I was guilty. No way around it.
I deserved the punishment. My fate rested in the hands of a State
Trooper from Georgia.
A ticket would be
justice.
A verbal warning would
be grace.
Grace - not getting
what we fully deserve and/or getting something we really don't.
We talked about how
God gives us grace. Because of our sins, we could never earn or deserve
eternal life and God's forgiveness on our own. Knowing this, God sent
Jesus Christ to bear the weight of our sins. Christ paid the price for
our sins.
By His blood we are
cleansed and saved.
I paraphrased Romans
5:8.
I looked them each in
the eye and shared how much God loved them.
I shared how we don't
deserve to be forgiven and we could never make right our broken relationship
with our Heavenly Father.
I tried to share with
them a vision of God's grace
I wasn't sure how much
the ticket was going to run me...
But I knew this moment
was priceless.
I had a moment where I
got to tell my 3 greatest blessings about the most important thing they will
ever hear about in their entire lives. I was given the opportunity to
plant a seed, which I have responsibility to nurture and develop as those three
girls grow into beautiful women.
I tried to teach them...
God chose grace.
My newfound friend
with the Georgia State Highway Patrol chose justice.
Evidently, God does
not moonlight with the Georgia State Highway Patrol.
Peace
