ONE OF THOSE DAYS

So, I'm driving down Valley Mills Dr. here in Waco going to Charles "The Beast and 1/2 of a Scholar" Talbert's class. For once, I was going to be on time for class (those of you who know me know that I'm late for everything). And then I pull up to a stop light. BANG! I lurched forward.

Crap!, I thought to myself.

I looked back in my rear-view mirror and see a girl driving the car behind me looking around, oblivious to the world.

Are you serious?, I thought.

I turned on my hazard lights and got out of my car. I walk up to her (still sitting in her driver's seat).

"Did you just hit me?" I inquired.

"Yeah, I just bumped you. It's OK though." she replied.

O...K..., I thought.

"I'm in a real big hurry. So if you want my insurance, you can copy it down real quick," she told me.

I was now going to be late to class, because she was in a hurry. But so was I (in a hurry, that is), so I said OK. But then the Sheriff showed up and stopped traffic.

Now this is going to take a while, I thought. See when the cops come, there's all this paperwork and they have to bring ambulance people and stuff for legal reasons, etc. I was already going to be late for class, and this girl was going to be late to whatever fire she was going to.

My car is like a tank. Seriously. You could drive it through a nitroglicerin plant and it wouldn't leave a dent. So there was really no damage to my car, just some of her paint on my bumper. It's all good.

So I got her insurance info and we both told the Sheriff to cancel the call for 'assistance' which would have definately included a citation for her. And I went to class and she went to wherever.

I didn't get mad. There was no reason to. There is rarely a reason to get mad, especially with people - we all screw up, right? Even if the other person doesn't care enough about what they've done, that gives us no right to not be Christians. We are supposed to chose harm, if the alternative is causing harm to others. Just because people don't act like we would like them to (in this case, a bit of remorse), that doesn't excuse us from the calling of Jesus to love our neighbors and to show that love. This world is temporary; my Jeep is temporary. My mission here on earth is not. It's all about priorities.