Have you ever had one of those weeks when you wonder what gives? Recently, I was traveling back from the Capitol after attending Gov. Kemp’s signing of a bill I wrote, and the weather was miserable. It was raining very hard, so I decided to pull into a Starbucks to offer my passengers a nice treat. Being a creature of habit, I ordered an extra hot venti caramel macchiato. Usually, I pour the coffee into my Yeti cup to keep it hot and to keep from spilling it, but it was not in my truck, so I just drank from the one that was provided.
As we traveled up the interstate, the lid came off my coffee, and the scorching liquid landed in my lap. One of my passengers pointed out that my pants were “smoking.” While I was certainly distracted, I knew it was important that I avoid an accident by maintaining my lane under these unpleasant conditions.
The following morning, I arrived at my office at around 6:30am to find a sweet pit bull lying next to the entrance door. The dog immediately greeted me and began licking my hand. It was wearing a collar, but no identification or rabies tags.
As the rest of the tenants arrived, I approached each office to see if I could find the owner or obtain information about this dog, so it would not be taken by animal control. At the salon, a customer volunteered to take the dog home and serve as a foster until the rightful owner could be located.
At noon, I headed to lunch and heard a commotion coming from the parking lot. As I approached, I could see six women and an irate man screaming obscenities at them. Evidently, this person claimed to be the dog’s owner, but the friendly dog refused to come to him. When the ladies asked him why the dog came to complete strangers but refused to come to him, he became hostile and threatened them.
I informed the man that he was on private property and needed to stop the hostile activities, take his dog, and vacate the property. Instead, he rushed me and attempted to place me in a headlock. Fortunately, my former collegiate wrestling days kicked in, and I avoided the hold. Embarrassed, he grabbed his dog and left.
Many in the crowd asked me to press charges for assault, but I declined and only asked the law enforcement officer to investigate the condition of the owner and the dog. Although this situation could have quickly gotten out of control, I am grateful I was able to avoid drifting into the young man’s lane.
The Lord reminds us in Corinthians 10 that temptation will come in life, but it will not exceed what we can handle. God’s grace is sufficient, and although he does not promise our lives will be free from trials, he does promise us a way to escape many of them if only we will remain in our lane.
to your business!