Uh-Oh!

Uh-oh, there’s the police. Does he want me to pull over? Was I speeding?” he asked. “I don’t know. I wasn’t paying attention,” I responded. Steve pulled over. We had been on our way to the home improvement store to buy supplies for my latest bright idea. The flashing blue and red lights followed us into the parking lot. “Get my registration and insurance from the dash,” Steve directed. I handed him the documents as the officer approached our open window. “State trooper Krause,” he said. “What’s the problem?” Steve asked.

“Your registration has expired,” he pointed to the document. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” Steve looked closely at our proof of registration.

“You’re right!” Steve was honestly shocked.

“How did that happen?” I asked. Steve is always very careful about taking care of all the paperwork. The trooper smiled. “I’ll tell you what: if you have a smartphone, you can sit here and renew the registration. Just be careful pulling out. Enjoy the rest of your day.” While we sat in the parking lot taking care of business, we wondered how this important detail could have slipped through the cracks. We felt so grateful the trooper realized our honest mistake, even though our registration was five months overdue.

This, folks, is grace—undeserved favor.

This, too, is mercy. He could have fined us.

It was something we should have taken care of, but the trooper recognized that, given the chance, we would make it right. I came away from this experience determined that the next time I find a glaring error someone has made, I will give them a chance to fix it. Do you know someone who needs you to extend grace and forgiveness? Sometimes what looks like an offense could just be an honest mistake. Let us determine to be gracious to others. And hopefully there will be no police involved!

Ann Trout