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November 24, 2005
Happy Thanksgiving To CQ Readers!

I may do some blogging today as I'm still recovering from the flu, and will probably have a bit of time to myself. The FM has cooked up a small turkey dinner for the two of us, but I'm sending her to the Minnesota family for a couple of hours to get a break from taking care of me. She's cooking up some delicious food, and I can't wait for my Thanksgiving supper later on.

I thought I'd share a bit about giving thanks -- nothing profound, but maybe a small metaphor for grace on an appropriate day for it. Yesterday, as I drove to work, I followed a truck just a shade to closely; not so much so to be dangerous per se, but enough to where I couldn't easily see a traffic light as we both approached an intersection. By the time I could see the light, it was yellow and I was too close to stop in time -- and it turned red as I hit the intersection. Not coincidentally, so did the lights on the unmarked police car in the next lane.

I pulled over right away, and after briefly thinking through a dozen lame excuses I could use, I decided to just acknowledge my mistake and take my punishment like a man (crying, sobbing, etc etc). The officer started the conversation with a cheery "Cut that one a little too close, eh?" I told him what I'd done that led to running the red light, and fully expected to get my first-ever moving violation. Instead, after running my driver's license and plates for wants and warrants, he let me off with a friendly warning. Given that I drive this road to work every day, I assume he will keep a close eye on me for the next few weeks to see if he made a mistake in letting me off the hook.

It occurred to me, after I very carefully pulled back into traffic, that this provided a small example of God's grace. There was no doubt that I'd broken the rules (sinned), and had even created a dangerous situation for others by my carelessness. I confessed readily to my transgression, and received mercy rather than my deserved punishment.

So today, while I'm thankful for all the blessings that I have in my life -- my wife, my son and daughter-in-law, my granddaughter, all of my family and friends, especially here at CQ -- I'm most thankful for God's graces on the many occasions when I fall short of being worthy of those blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving, and may God shower his grace on all of you.

(A special thanks to a beautiful compliment paid to me today by the ever-classy Alexandra at All Things Beautiful.)

Sphere It Digg! View blog reactions
Posted by Ed Morrissey at November 24, 2005 10:52 AM

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