Speeding tickets...

Nothing quite like getting what you deserve...

Turns out that there's a speed trap up right by where 177 Highway (i.e. Bill Snyder Memorial Highway). It also turns out that you should pay attention to speeding signs instead of fiddling with your radio and looking at the cars around you. Luckly, the officer was quite kind and respectful -- and beyond that gracious and gave me a far lesser ticket than I deserved. Turns out grace can be found in the most unlikely of places. So here's to you officer. Thanks for both ruining my day and reminding me of the goodness of grace all at the same time.

Overall, it's a pretty good thing that I got my ticket. Well... except that my insurance will probably get way more expensive and I owe the state of Kansas $126.00. But, I got the rest of my hour drive to reflect on how this small example of somewhat painful grace is a small reflection of the grace that I receive every second of every minute of my life. I deserve a lot more than the small (probably non-existent) "hard knocks" I think I get all the time. And to think, God's grace doesn't even cost $126 dollars. It only requires the surrender of "my" life...

But then again, it's also the only place that I can find life as it's meant to be. It's kind of a strange, beautiful paradox. Now maybe if I could learn to express the gratefulness I expressed to a cop for granted grace that saved me a few bucks to the God who's granted a grace far more costly and beautiful.

But I guess that brings me back to giving up the mud pies that I like to play in for a wonderful holiday by the sea (thanks C.S. Lewis...).

It's my prayer that we could all learn to live in the fullness of life that grace offers to us... and more than that to be 1/2 as thankful for it as we ought to be. How easily that's lost in the hustle and bustle of work and accidentally going 20 over in 45 mile and hour zone on 177. How easy I forget. Luckily, God throws me cops who only write me tickets for 10 over when I deserve a bigger one. Reflections of the goodness of God's grace can be found all around. I just need to slow the heck down and see them.

Praise be to the God of Redemption who pours out grace on mud caked little boys like me who want so much to be like Him but just loose site when the mud covers our eyes. Praise to the God of Restoration who pulls us out of the mud and slowly washes all the mud of so that we can turn into a reflection of Something far more beautiful so that others can see the beauty of who Redemption is and find completion there. Praise Him.