My friends laugh because I spiritualize EVERYTHING. So here goes my take on the speeding ticket I received yesterday as a gift from the county sheriff. The day started out so beautiful! No way to imagine my drive to work… a small country road…very little traffic…an occasional antelope or bicycler on the side. I’ve had a break in work so I was SO excited to get back out to Sanctuary. My praise music was blaring and life was good! I was flying HIGH…literally…a mere 16 miles ABOVE the limit!
Then it happened. I crested a hill and there he was! A handsome and very young man in a uniform. He made a quick u-turn, lights on…I knew I was b-u-s-t-e-d!!! I turned down the praise music but did conveniently leave it on just a little bit. I guess I secretly wanted him to know the REASON for my speeding …as if that would influence his decision in some way.
He was a pleasant fellow. Apparently, he liked me also, because he said, “you seem like such a nice lady, I’m going to go easy on you.” (Oh good…no jail-time!). He reduced my fine from what would have been $190.00 and 4 points to $106.00 and only 1 point! WOW! Since this was the FIRST EVER SPEEDING TICKET I’ve ever gotten I had no clue they were so very pricey! I of course thanked him profusely as I pulled away. So much for the new dress I had been eyeing!
As I process through the event I think of the gift of grace and how God extends that to us every single day. Seriously, I do see why I shouldn’t be driving that fast on that road. At any given moment any sort of wild animal could dart out in front of you. Additionally, there are dips and bumps in the road. Hitting one of those too fast and you could go airborne pretty quick. Who knows if just over that hill I wouldn’t have encountered any number of situations that could have —God forbid—caused me to wreck or hurt someone or something else.
When God slows us down we should listen. While my motivation was completely pure, I wasn’t following the rules. Praising the Lord for my life while breaking the law…hmmm. Something tells me He can’t bless that! Yes, He does want us to love the life He’s graciously given us; however, we do need to take time to stay safe. If He slows us down, it’s because He has our best interests in mind.
He so many times lets us off the hook and sometimes He graciously gives us lesser consequences than we deserve. I love how kind He can be…even when we don’t deserve it! Who knows maybe…it is possible…that $106 moment saved my life. Puts things in perspective. And that my friends, is my spiritual lesson for the day.