Do-over...

I know what I’m about to say won’t come as a shock to anyone who knows Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Savior, but we were reminded today that we serve the God of second chances. Do you remember a few weeks back when I told you we were stopped and very intimidated by a policeman here? And what a hard time we were having because we felt like we had not handled the situation as we should have?

The following week, we were stopped again just down the road from our house by a cadet who was training. It happened in front of the Police Academy and they frequently do routine stops there in order to teach the cadets the “proper” way to handle traffic violations. We knew why we were being stopped then and didn’t think much about it as there were lots of cars being stopped by the group of cadets…although the heart rate always goes up a bit when being pulled over, whether here or in the U.S. Our paperwork was all in order so after the supervisor gave our cadet the okay, we were back in traffic and on our way home.

Today, we had our third experience. Today continues to be a holiday…carrying over from yesterday which was Nicaragua’s Independence Day. Many of the businesses are closed today and the traffic is very light. We were supposed to meet Miguel for his lesson this morning but when we arrived at the church, it was locked up tight and no sign of Miguel. We are hoping he stayed home due to the holiday and nothing more than that to keep him from work.

After an unsuccessful trip to Metro Centro to try to find some wide clear tape (to tape some broken glass in one of our patio door sidelights) we decided to stop and eat lunch at Pizza Hut (they have a special where we both can eat lunch for $8) before heading on to Sinsa in hopes of finding our tape there. It has been almost a month since our last visit to Pizza Hut. It was that day that we were stopped by the corrupt cop…right after we had eaten lunch at Pizza Hut and made a trip to Sinsa.

That thought crossed my mind as we were leaving the restaurant because there was a cop who was trying to sort out the events of a fender bender that had occurred there in the parking lot which sits on a corner. Jim had his left turn signal on as he waited for the traffic to pass and then carefully turned left in to the correct lane that would go straight through the light. We had a red light and as we sat there, we noticed that there were two police officers standing off to the side of the road a ways down on the other side of the intersection. We even said something to each other about it. Jim is especially cautious when driving now after our previous experience.

It was at that moment that I remembered I hadn’t prayed as we were leaving the house this morning. It’s something I do every time we get in the car. I always pray out loud for us…for safe travel and protection from evil and for sensitivity to where God is working around us. So, as we sat at the light, I prayed out loud and because I had a “funny feeling” about the police ahead, I also prayed that God would speak to the hearts of those people in power who might be pulled towards corruption and that He would protect us from such people.

The light turned green and we began driving. I finished praying just as we got through the intersection and Jim had no more than thanked me for praying when we saw the two police officers, a man and a woman, move out to the edge of the lane of traffic and look right at us. It was no surprise when they then motioned for us to pull over to the edge of the road. I remember saying out loud, “Thank you, Lord,” and then asking Him for wisdom for us.

Right now, before I go any further, I want to say this is a perfect example of the Holy Spirit interceding. In the natural realm, I can’t imagine I would ever “naturally” thank the Lord for being pulled over by a cop in Managua. But thankfully, I believe the Spirit had complete control at that moment of both my tongue and my attitude. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says: "Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

The woman officer stopped a car that had been behind us and the male officer came up to our window. I already had our identification cards out of the glovebox and Jim pulled out his license. The officer spent some time on his walkie talkie and I noticed he was holding someone else’s license in his hand. He put it in a manila envelope, presumably with others that he had collected. I couldn’t help but notice at that moment that I wasn’t scared like I was a month ago. I wasn’t thrilled but I wasn’t scared. Progress.

The officer looked at Jim’s license and then asked if his name was “James”. Jim affirmed it was and the officer called him Don James…a sign of respect. Whether it was said with true respect or not, I can’t say but I can say the officer was very kind. When he discovered Jim couldn’t speak much Spanish and I couldn’t speak much more than Jim, he immediately slowed down and simplified his sentences. It seems that it is not legal to turn left out of the parking lot we were in. There are no signs that indicate that but there is a yellow no-passing stripe. Apparently that also means you can’t cross the line to get in to a lane of traffic unless there is a designated place which would allow you to turn left in to traffic. The officer was very kind but firm.

Jim apologized and the police officer began explaining he was going to keep Jim’s license. For just a moment, it was like déjà vu. But suddenly, things were different. We didn’t feel powerless and we didn’t feel scared. We felt that Jesus was right there, encouraging us to hold firm. If the officer took Jim’s license, then so be it. We were going to do what we should have done the first time. So when the officer showed us he was going to put Jim’s license in his envelope, we both smiled and said okay. He told us we would have to go to the bank tomorrow to pay the fine of 400 cordobas. Again, we smiled and said we understood. He said we would have to go to the Transit Office to get Jim’s license back and told us that it was down by Huembes Market. Still smiling, we said okay and I asked him what day we could pick it up.

At that point, I stumbled over which word to use for “what”…was it “Que” or was it “Cual”? Again, I smiled as I apologized for my botched Spanish. He told us we could get it “Freeday”. “Friday?” I asked. “Si, Friday”. The officer smiled then. Obviously, neither of us would soon be mistaken as being bilingual! Again, Jim and I affirmed we understood. The officer then looked at Jim’s license and our car registration card again. He asked what department we lived in, if it was Carazo? We told him no, even though that’s what the registration card indicates as that’s where the car originates from. We told him we live in Managua and Jim told him on Carreterra Sur. The officer looked at both of us and then handed us back our registration card and Jim’s license. He told us we could go on.

For a few seconds, we sat there in stunned silence! He never asked for money, he was polite and almost friendly. The officer extended his hand and as Jim took it to shake it, I told him in Spanish that we wanted God to bless him. He smiled a great smile and blessed us in return. We carefully pulled back in to traffic and headed on to Sinsa, thanking and praising God all the way. Now I know why the Spirit put the words of thankfulness on my lips as we were pulled over. It was in anticipation of what was going to happen next. God was going to be gracious in showing us that sometimes in life, He gives us “do-overs”.

Do I think we skated by without getting a ticket? Not at all. I think we received a gift. An undeserved gift. We could have just as easily ended up with Jim’s license in the officer’s envelope instead of back in his billfold. So, what really happened? What changed from a month ago? Jim didn’t intend to violate a traffic law last time any more than today. And ignorance of a law does not negate its existence nor is it a valid excuse when it’s broken. We were not victims then nor were we today…we just made different choices. A month ago, we were intimidated. Today, we were resolved. A month ago, we were afraid to have Jim’s license taken. Today, we were prepared to let it go. A month ago, we were ashamed. Today, we were joy-filled. A month ago, we forgot Who was our Authority. Today, we remembered.