A man on a busy boulevard was being tailgated by a woman. Suddenly the light turned yellow in front of him. He did the right thing, stopping at the crosswalk, even though he could have beaten the red light by accelerating through the intersection.

The tailgating woman was furious. Dropping her cell phone and makeup, she honked her horn, screaming in frustration at having missed her chance to get through the intersection. Still in mid-rant, she heard a tap on her window and looked up at the face of a very serious police officer. He ordered her to exit her car with her hands where he could see them and proceeded to take her to the police station. 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. The woman 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, flipping off the guy in front of you and cussing a blue streak. And I noticed your ‘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. Naturally, I assumed you had stolen the car.”

By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ~ words of Jesus in Matthew 7:16-17.

Lesson: when congruity is lacking between one’s heart and one’s bumper stickers, life’s roadway is sure to be rougher than it need be.

 

~ 0 ~

“Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.” ~Stephen Covey

~ 0 ~

 

I shot down the hill and along the flat stretch of open road, smiling at the earthy sounds of my car’s new dual Hollywood mufflers, feeling the warm sun, and the wind in my hair, oblivious to all else. I was living the dream!

As I eased on down the off ramp leading into my home town, I saw him coming, lights flashing, making up the distance between us all too quickly.

And then there he was, looking impressive in his highway patrolman’s uniform, standing at my window.

He asked for my driver’s license. The one I had been issued a few months before on my 16th birthday, with the clear understanding it was a privilege, not a right; and that by accepting it I had agreed to abide by all the laws of highway driving.

“How fast do you think you were going?” he asked, gazing first at my license, then at me.

“I’m not exactly sure,” I replied with a smile. “How fast do you think I was going?

“Fast enough you’re lucky I didn’t get you on radar, son,” he smiled back, flashing the pad for writing tickets he held next to my sacred driver’s license. I breathed a sigh of teenage relief. He hadn’t timed me out.

“Nice mufflers,” he continued, stepping back and admiring my freshly painted red and black 1955 Chevy Impala, the first car I ever owned.

“Thanks,” I said with a grin, pleased at myself now, feeling good as he checked out my wheels. It seemed like the worst was nearly over.

“Hollywoods, right?”

“Right,” I said. “Installed them myself. They sound pretty great, don’t they?”

“Yeah, they do. I was looking elsewhere when you flashed by me back there. I actually heard you before I saw you. Wrap them up for me, will you? Let me hear them again.”

Now totally relieved we were not talking about speeding, and seeing just how interested the trooper was in my car, I revved up the engine, feeling a keen wave of pride as we listened to its resonant rumble.

“You’re right,” he said, smiling once again and began writing on his ticket pad. “They do sound really great. They are also very illegal, son.”

Then he handed me a ticket.

“I know who you are,” he continued, “and I know your dad is the mayor of our little community. So I’m sure he will want you to slow down and be a safe driver. And I don’t want to see this red and black wonder car on the road again until you’ve taken off the Hollywoods. Okay?”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I’m letting you off with a warning. Don’t disappoint me. I’ll see you around.”

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.       ~~ more words of Jesus in Matthew 7:18-20.

Lesson: grace is getting something you don’t deserve, and mercy is not getting what you do deserve. ~ Unknown

~ 0 ~

“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us. ~Thomas Paine

~ 0 ~