Life's Gentle Lessons

At 7:00 a.m. this morning, I broke the law of the land.

And, to boot, I didn’t even know it as I did it.

As usual, I left home for work at 6:45 a.m. Although school does not begin until 8:45 a.m., I relish the smooth ride to work in relatively lighter early morning traffic and the alone time I enjoy in my office, over a cup of hot coffee, doing paper work that needs my attention in the relaxing cadence of Mons’ tunes in deep basal stereophonic sound.

This morning, as I cornered north-east bound onto Disraeli’s Bridge from Main Street, I was totally booby-trapped in the glory of the rising sun fully blasted into my retinas. For a split moment, I was almost blinded to the road, the traffic, and the traffic lights in front of me, except my driving instinct, misguided by the half-ton truck in front of me in my lane.

I followed the vehicle and crossed the intersection as I have done so for the past 15 years, day after day. Although I could not see the traffic lights at all due to the intense sunlight that smacked me in the face, I made the erroneous assumption, through my daily experience, that the traffic lights would be green to go.

As I entered into the intersection, I realized it was w-a-y too late.

The strobe light of a radar photo cam flashed in my rear view mirror. I looked to my left and saw the traffic light sporting a bright red.

Instinctively, I slowed down from my 55 km-per-hour speed to close to a crawl, wishing I could crawl back to the other side of the intersection behind the camera.

My heart dropped. My pulse raced. I tightly steered the wheel as my head half-drooped in abject defeat.

The feeling of remorse and “too-late-to-go-back” was overwhelming! I felt like crying.

“How could I be so idiotic?” my mind churned in instant video replays.

Awaiting the $167 traffic violation fine that will be forthcoming in snail mail within the next three weeks, I am pressing hard into what object lessons I could have learned through this incident.

1. It could have been worse, such as causing a serious accident where life is endangered and properties are damaged.

2. It is, after all, just a traffic violation ticket that I'll get. No more, no less. If viewed in a different light, it is a $167 worth of a refresher course in defensive driving.

3. Regardless of my internal reaction to this event, be it a day of joyless heaviness as I have lived today, or an ability to rise above and place the event in its proper perspective against the endless array of ponderousness in life, I still have to wait for three weeks for the dreaded fine to arrive, like it or not.

4. Despite my best and feverish attempts at Googling the sizes of fines relative to the kinds of traffic violations and seeking advice from Manitoba Justice whether this would be a contestable case, I am immediately reminded of Proverb 3 : 5 – 7a where Solomon strongly brings me to my knees in humble submission: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your way straight… Do not be wise in your own eyes…”

5. This is not even close to the "It's Too Late; No Turning Back" scenario where I might find myself were I to spurn the grace and mercy of a loving God after His relentless pursuit of me with His love before the beginning of time. This temporal consequence will fade away and life on earth will eventually even out. However, the eternal consequence of turning away from God is irreversible, lamentable, and truly regrettable.

Is today's lesson worth learning even if it costs $167?