Grace, Drafting, and the Georgia State Highway Patrol

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