Looking Past The Cop

Blinking lights in your rear view mirror is never a good thing. And certainly, at 7:50 a.m. it’s not what you want to see.

I pulled the car to the roadside, reached for my driver’s license and rolled down the window to greet the approaching policeman. All of this while my grandson shrieked and cried alligator tears because of a disagreement with his brother.

He was a very nice policeman. “Ma’am,” he said in his lilting Tennessee drawl, “I clocked you at 32 in a 15 mile per hour school zone. You’re from Florida?” he asked as he examined my license. I explained that I was the grandmother staying with the children in their parents’ absence. After a bit more conversation, during which I assured him grandson was fine, just angry, he smiled, cautioned me to slow down and sent me on my way. A few minutes later, I had delivered Andrew to school and headed back to the serenity of the empty house.

“Holy cow,” I thought. “What in the world just happened? What a way to start the day! Lord, help me here.” All the while, the radio played in the background. And the very next song was Brad Paisley. As if that wasn’t day-brightener enough, he sang these words:

“Behind the clouds, the sun is shining; Believe me even though you can’t make it out. You may not see the silver lining, but there’s a big blue sky waiting just behind the clouds.”

Thanks, God…and Brad. I needed that "breeze" this morning.