Traffic Jams and the Power of Grace
It’s
been awhile since I’ve written a blog.
Life has a way of getting busy and often distracts us at times, doesn’t
it? But I feel the pull today to share
another small nugget of understanding which came to me one day while driving in
traffic.
As
I mentioned in a previous blog ( A Cure for Driving Boredom ) part of my current employment, I drive a
small company car around each day from house to house providing home health
physical therapy services to people in need.
Now the fairly small Southeast town of Rexburg, Idaho is no booming
metropolis by any stretch of the imagination, and usually any traffic jams that
occur are the result of an area farmer driving his tractor or some other
enormous farm implement down a roadway like a lumbering tortoise!
For
this I am extremely grateful! I much
prefer the slower pace than the frantic rush of a big city any day! I’ve done both throughout my life and I would
gladly spend a few minutes behind a combine looking at open fields than stuck
in 8 lanes of packed traffic sucking exhaust fumes.
But
despite the smaller feel and slower pace of the area in which I live, there are
still plenty of people in too big of a hurry to get where they’re going for
some reason or another, and this can cause for some occasional traffic tension,
even for a calm demeanor guy like myself.
One of my pet peeves is that for some reason, people don’t seem to know
how to use their blinkers properly. You
can be waiting for a car to pass, only to have them turn in before you, or
sometimes they will suddenly cut you off as they turn across your path of
forward progress with no warning.
This
type of thing use to really bother me, but I’ve come to realize over time, that
my blood pressure and my day are both a lot better if I just realize that other
people are probably simply involved in their own busy lives and priorities and
just fail to plan ahead or notice those around them (but that is a totally
different topic altogether for another discussion). Instead, I try to be grateful to avoid any
accidents throughout my life on the roadways.
Awhile
back, I did have one occasion however, which taught me a valuable lesson, and
that is what I would like to share today.
It
was a perfectly good day, as I was in my little company car, heading out of
town to visit my next client. As I
approached the crowded interchange near the freeway outside of town, I moved
over into the left turning lane (after using my blinker correctly I might add)
as I prepared to go under the freeway and gain access to the onramp on the
other side. Without warning a large,
jacked-up pickup truck with big tires came careening around my, cut me off and
whipped into the turning lane in the small space between me and the car ahead
of me, causing me to slam on my brakes as the busy traffic came to a halt.
My
first instinct was to light that little ember of rage, which seems to burn just
out of sight and mind for many of us, but which if left unchecked can easily
erupt into a road rage inferno. Just as
my subconscious was duking it out over whether to unleash the fire of
indignation or douse the dancing sparks, the honk of a horn pulled my
attention to the car stopped in the lane beside me.
Glancing
to my right, I saw the smiling, sweet face of a lady I knew as she waved and
wished me a good day silently through the panes of glass. (I'm not implying by the picture below that the lady was a dog, I just thought it was a cute picture of a dog waving hello!)
Here
I was sitting in a company car with the name and logo of my employer plastered
all over the sides and back of the vehicle, and I realized that I wasn’t just
driving around representing myself, but my boss, fellow employees and the
company for which I work. And…. people
around me notice that! I don’t just go
through my day and life in anonymity within my own bubble of steel and glass
around me. I represent much more than
that.
Then
a second layer of realization dawned upon me as the Spirit whispered even
deeper into my soul. This lady knew me
not only as an employee of the company I work for, but as a fellow member of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and a priesthood holder. She knew who I was and what I was supposed to
be representing. I was grateful that I
had not, as of yet, acted badly.
A
quick prayer of forgiveness rose out of my heart as I realized that because of
the fact that I am a Christian, and have made covenants with my Lord and Savior
to take His name upon me and represent him, that even though it may not be
visible like a logo on the outside of my car, I have branded myself His… and
people around me should see and notice that in how I act and treat other people
throughout my travels and interactions each day.
Even
if that lady had not noticed who I was beside me in traffic that day, God looks
down upon me (and all of us) with rapt attention to the details of our lives
and how we act, think and feel, and interact with those about us. He is patient and kind and constantly beckons
us to come to higher moral ground with His call of “Come unto me.”
As
Christians of whatever faith or religion, as we accept Jesus Christ as our
Savior and Redeemer and the eternally encompassing power of His Grace and Atonement,
that acceptance should change us. It is
not that we can Earn heaven through our works or behavior, but the power of His
Grace should motivate us to Learn heaven by changing us into
something better than we currently are.
In effect, as we accept Him and His grace, we take His name upon
ourselves, which means we should act and behave in the way that He would if He
were here in our place.
This
is the miracle of His grace! That it
provides for us, through no power of our own, the ability to change from our
fallen and imperfect state, into something that desires to be better and more Christ-like
both inside and out.
Whether
we are driving through busy traffic, or waiting in line at the checkout stand,
or interacting with co-workers, and especially in our families within the walls
of our own homes, we would all do well to remember who we represent, and how
His grace should influence, motivate and empower us to become more like Him.
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