An Ah Ha Moment

chicagotribune.com

A friend sent this to me, one of those ah ha, gotcha (oh oh) moments. Take a look:

The light turned yellow just in front of him. He did the right thing and stopped at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman behind him was furious and honked her horn, screaming in frustration and gave him the finger, all because she missed her chance to get through the intersection.  

As she was still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a very serious police officer. The officer ordered her to exit her car with her hands up. He took her to the police station where she was searched, fingerprinted, photographed and placed in a holding cell.  

After a couple of hours, a policeman approached the cell and opened the door. She was escorted back to the booking desk where the arresting officer was waiting with her personal effects.  

He said, "I'm very sorry for this mistake. You see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, giving the guy in front of you the finger and cursing at him. I noticed the 'What Would Jesus Do' bumper sticker, the 'Choose Life' license plate holder, the 'Follow Me to Sunday-School' bumper sticker, and the chrome-plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk, so naturally I assumed you had stolen the car."

This doesn't matter much for those who don't worry about tantrums or reputation.But for those who do, it has a glimpse of humor, a recognition of misbehavior, a warning, caught in the act but released. Was it necessary for her to get angry because she missed the green light? Was she in a crucial hurry? Was it her nature? Did she know better? Who are we to judge?

Good question, really. Because if it can be easy to miss the mark without detection. It is easy to make a mistake. But it may not be as easy to correct. Yet the police officer did show he was sorry, Was she sorry or embarrassed?

Life is like that, isn't it? We do get away with things and never get caught. We do sin and never ask for forgiveness. We do get angry over matters inconsequential. Some believe that everything humans do or say is divinely recorded. If not true, so what! But if true?