A funny thing happened on the way to the meeting.....Actually, it wasn't really that funny, and it turned out to be quite a moment for some serious learning.

Last Tuesday, I woke up not feeling very good, stuffy head and sore throat. It was also one of

those' mornings with the kids. You know the kind, when everyone is just being slow and uncooperative, the kind were it feels like everyone is doing their level best to keep you from getting where you need to be. I was tired and running late. In my self-centeredness, I was feeling frustrated and annoyed.

Nonetheless, I got the children out the door and jumped in my car. When I glanced at the clock on the dashboard, I saw that I was going to be at least 10 minutes late for the meeting I had to attend in Hamilton. I pulled out the laneway and onto the side street and then onto Highway 10, it was then that I realized I had forgotten to leave the extra keys for my husband. I swung the car around and nipped up another laneway, pulled angle-wise into our drive way, jumped out of the car, opened the back door and threw the set of keys down the hallway with a shout to my husband, "Here's the keys. I love you. Bye!" Not waiting for a response, I leapt into my car and headed back out onto the road.

You know what is going to happen don't you! Well on most other mornings, when I was feeling a bit more alert and with it, I too, would have thought, "Today will be the day..." But I wasn't thinking about speed traps, I was thinking about the meeting I was late for and how I was going to get back in time to run the kids to their event after school. You know how that is.

As I rounded the bend on the Fergus Road, my eyes caught the glimpse of a car way up the road on the other side, and then, you guessed it, the lights came on - the ones the cruiser and the ones in my head!! Instinctively, I slowed down, hoping against hope, that he wasn't after me. Alas, after I passed, the OPP car made a quick u-turn and swung around on the road. I w a i t e d until he was at least going the same direction as me, and I gently, q u i e t l y, dejectedly, p u l l e d over onto the shoulder, and put the car into park. I tossed my head back against the headrest and sighed.

The officer came to the window as I lowered it, his face cast in shadow with the sun directly behind his head. "Good morning, ma'am," he said. "Is there any reason for your haste this morning? "No," I replied softly and somewhat apologetically. If I had been on my way to a funeral, or dashing between Sunday services, or even on my way to the hospital to visit someone very ill, I might have said yes, but, alas, I was simply on my way to a meeting in Hamilton.

"Ownership and licence, please," he requested matter of-factly. As I retrieved the documents from my purse, he told me how fast I was going and asked when was the last time I had a speeding ticket. I was surprised to learn what my actual speed was, and I was a bit e m b a r rassed too. I had been so preoccupied with my agenda, that I truly hadn't noticed how fast I was driving. I did admit to that part, but I did tell him that may only other speeding ticket was over five years ago. As he went to his car to write up the ticket, I thought to myself, "Actually, you know, it isn't that bad, only two speeding tickets in over 20 years." When he returned to the side of my car, Constable Brown handed me the ticket explaining that I could pay it or go to court if I wanted to challenge it. "No," I said, "I will pay the fine."

I carefully pulled back onto the road, accelerated to 80km/hour and turned on the cruise control. I made it safely to my meeting, which had not yet begun because a few others were late too!

Each day, I try to make time to reflect on my experiences and I ask God what God is trying to show me in them. And so, I pondered that speeding ticket, I immediately thought, "I guess I'm meant to slow down. I have been very busy and not taking enough time for myself." And then, that word stuck in my head, 'myself'. As I sat with that word a little longer, I became aware of the self-centeredness of my actions.

Getting a speeding ticket isn't simply about slowing down, it is about approaching the road and driving with the other, instead of myself, in mind. Slowing down isn't about avoiding a traffic ticket, it is about respecting the other people on the road. Taking your time and being alert is about being concerned with how your actions affect those around you. In the end, the speeding ticket was not so much about 'slowing down', but rather a 'waking up' and a call to humility - to remember to think about and care about others and how my actions might impact upon them.

I pray that such insight will guide not only my driving but also my thinking, my speaking and my encounters with others on and off the road.