Will I never learn? I got a speeding ticket this morning. On the way to school. For speeding through a school zone! I was at it again. . . multitasking. Quizzing my daughter on her spelling words as I rambled down a too-familiar stretch of road that I drive on a daily basis.
I told the officer that I'm a mother of four, that I NEVER speed through school zones (which obviously is no longer true), and that it was my kids who were distracting me. . . and that I was very, very sorry. Then I looked up at him with my sad, teary eyes. (That always works with my husband.) The officer said, "Please slow down, ma'am," and handed me my citation. Despite my obvious pleas for mercy, I received my penalty.
I wasn't sure whether to be heartbroken or just mad about the injustice of it all. After all, I am a decent, law-abiding citizen 99.9% of the time. I'm responsible. I vote. I recycle. I turn my library books in on time. I even deposit my empty popcorn bag in the trash can at the movie theater! And I usually feel completely justified in looking down on those who don't!
And yet here I am, with a ticket. . . a penalty. Because of one little technicality. A little rule about how fast a person ought to drive on a certain stretch of road at a certain time of day. Even when she's overwhelmed, exhausted and completely distracted. It wasn't really even my fault, right? He totally should have cut me some slack.
And then I read, "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it." (James 2:10) Ouch! That pesky James, always pointing out the blatant truth without one ounce of sugar-coating.
So I guess I'm really not a law-abiding citizen after all.
It's easy for me to downplay my sins, my shortcomings, the reality of my depraved nature. I fool myself into thinking I'm, mmmm, decent. But the truth is there is "no one righteous, not even one." (Romans 3:10) My default setting is sin. So when I'm distracted and turn myself to auto-pilot, I mess up. Just like I messed up and went coasting through a school zone at 38 miles per hour. I guess that's why Peter says to be "self controlled and alert." (1 Peter 5:8) I'm pretty sure Peter was well-acquainted with his own default setting when he wrote that!
Lord, let me never be so smug that I lean on my own understanding, trust in my own "goodness," or cruise through life on spiritual auto-pilot. I have a keen enemy, who is prowling and waiting for such an opportunity.
And thanks be to God, who offered His only Son as payment for my penalty--both for my willful sins, and the ones I commit when I forget to pay attention. I no longer have that stamp of "guilty" on my forehead. . . He washed it clean away.
Now if I could just find someone to pay the fine on my speeding ticket!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Lesson One
Just do it. Sit down at the computer and write. I've been talking about it for years now, so I guess there's no time like the present. My head is full of all these thoughts and stories. . . it's about time I put them in writing.
This is a summer of hummingbirds. It's surprising, since we are in the middle of a record drought and heatwave and all the plants are struggling just to stay alive. Blooms are scarce. And yet, there they are, those gorgeous hummingbirds, almost every time I walk out or even look out my kitchen window. Buzzing about, flitting happily from bloom to bloom.
Last week I went out into the garage and found one trapped in there. The garage door was open, but the poor little hummingbird kept flying back and forth, perching temporarily on the garage door rails near the ceiling. It seemed he didn't realize that he needed to fly just a little lower in order to escape. I called my oldest to the garage to see. In a near panic, he informed me that the hummingbird would die if he didn't get out because hummingbirds need to eat constantly in order to sustain their high metabolism. (Wisdom gained from watching a nature show on TV, my oldest sucks in knowledge like a sponge and is armed with an endless collection of random facts.) We rigged up a leaky plastic hummingbird feeder and hung it from the garage door, hoping to lure the hummingbird back to the open sky. It must have worked, because when we went out later he was gone.
He just had to go lower. It reminded me of a chapter in Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts. Love that book. Life-changing it was for me when I read it. Completely turned my perspective on life upside down. And chapter nine is simply entitled, "go lower." Because in God's economy, the way up is always down. Humility is the path to gratitude and joy. In order to soar to new heights, we must first go lower.
Instead, I often flutter unneccesarily back and forth. . . like that sweet hummingbird. I can see the sky, but I can't figure out how to get to it. Go lower.
Lord, how I need Your grace. Cleanse me of this pride and self-reliance that are so rampant in me. Teach me humility. Teach me to serve. To literally be "down-to-earth," not squeamish of dirtying my hands with the work You would have me do. Not afraid to let go of my own agenda. Help me to follow Your way. . . to go lower. . . to fly.
This is a summer of hummingbirds. It's surprising, since we are in the middle of a record drought and heatwave and all the plants are struggling just to stay alive. Blooms are scarce. And yet, there they are, those gorgeous hummingbirds, almost every time I walk out or even look out my kitchen window. Buzzing about, flitting happily from bloom to bloom.
Last week I went out into the garage and found one trapped in there. The garage door was open, but the poor little hummingbird kept flying back and forth, perching temporarily on the garage door rails near the ceiling. It seemed he didn't realize that he needed to fly just a little lower in order to escape. I called my oldest to the garage to see. In a near panic, he informed me that the hummingbird would die if he didn't get out because hummingbirds need to eat constantly in order to sustain their high metabolism. (Wisdom gained from watching a nature show on TV, my oldest sucks in knowledge like a sponge and is armed with an endless collection of random facts.) We rigged up a leaky plastic hummingbird feeder and hung it from the garage door, hoping to lure the hummingbird back to the open sky. It must have worked, because when we went out later he was gone.
He just had to go lower. It reminded me of a chapter in Ann Voskamp's book, One Thousand Gifts. Love that book. Life-changing it was for me when I read it. Completely turned my perspective on life upside down. And chapter nine is simply entitled, "go lower." Because in God's economy, the way up is always down. Humility is the path to gratitude and joy. In order to soar to new heights, we must first go lower.
Instead, I often flutter unneccesarily back and forth. . . like that sweet hummingbird. I can see the sky, but I can't figure out how to get to it. Go lower.
Lord, how I need Your grace. Cleanse me of this pride and self-reliance that are so rampant in me. Teach me humility. Teach me to serve. To literally be "down-to-earth," not squeamish of dirtying my hands with the work You would have me do. Not afraid to let go of my own agenda. Help me to follow Your way. . . to go lower. . . to fly.
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