Well, I had one pull up behind me with its lights on last night and I did not have that feeling. Because I just figured he wanted to pass me. Nope. He wanted to pull me over. I was shocked. But still didn't have that feeling.
He came up, told me I hadn't stopped completely at the stop sign (four way stop at night, no other cars anywhere). I apologized to him, was very respectful. I did not argue or claim that I was sure I had stopped because I always stop. I did not make excuses. Basically, I was just generally very submissive to his authority.
About two thirds of the way through the traffic stop (when he was going back to write me my ticket), I realized this was a quite possibly one of my greatest parenting opportunities. And, by golly, I was not going to miss it.
I had a chance to show my kids what showing respect to someone in authority actually looked like. And best of all, I had already done it!
When the officer came back to the car, I apologized to him again for my offense and thanked him for stopping me. He said the fine for running a stop sign is $100, but that he was going to let me off with a warning. I thanked him again and I thanked him for treating me with respect instead of being rude and mean like I have experienced in the past from other officers.
As we drove away, I began praying for God to give me the right words to share with the kids. I want them to learn how to accept responsibility for their mistakes without arguing and throwing fits-something we are really struggling with right now. God provided me with a tailor made opportunity to model this desired behavior for them. Just when I needed it. I could never have thought of something like that.
God truly is a creative Creator.
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