Driving along this morning on my way to work, I was in a great mood. I woke up early, left the house early, and managed to run an errand before making my way to the office. Austin Stone's suday sermon was playing in the background and I was feeling great.
Until, that is, I decided to pass a rather slow car in front of me. Bad idea #1.
Noticing that no one was in the left lane, I politely signal, speed up to about 65 in a 55 and enter the left lane.
What I failed to notice, however, was that the car about a quarter mile back in the left lane was going 85 in this 55 zone -- boy, my 65 miles per hour was not going to fly with him. And within seconds he made that clear by riding my tail and flashing his lights at me for a good 20 seconds.
Feeling bad, I sped up a bit more to quickly pass the car I had originally set out to pass and get back over into my lane. All in all, I maybe slowed this guy down (considering his slow was still speeding) for max 1 minute.
My bad or not, I decided I was going to suck it up and wave when he passed me as a little "I'm sorry; cheer up buddy" gesture.
Bad idea #2 of my morning.
He didn't appreciate my apology and responded with a nice middle finger as he zoomed past me. I wish I could say that his reaction surprised me, but unfortunately, that behavior seems so normal around here; it seems like a habit to react with anger rather than with understanding to bring someone else down rather than bless them.
Normally I think this reaction would upset me; normally I'd be mad and bothered. But today I was thankful. Thankful that I have a car and a job to drive it to. Thankful that I'm able to slow down and appreciate every day--the people and the moments that fill those days. Thankful for a life so blessed.
Thankful that today, I can pray for this morning speedster.
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