I got a parking ticket last week for $275….
I know what some of you are thinking, “You park THAT bad?!”
NO. Thank you, but no.
I was rushing back to my room to sell something on Craigslist, parked my car in a handicapped spot, and threw on my blinkers. I was STOKED to sell some items that won’t fit in my car when I drive back to Ohio from California because, surprisingly, I have a lot of things to get rid of.
Anyway.
Back to my story.
When you start cleaning your room/ house for the first time in a while, do you ever get distracted by the things you find?
Me too.
After I met up with the buyer, I got distracted for an hour and a half. I completely forgot about my car until I left to grab dinner with my boyfriend… there was a big, bright orange rectangle screaming at me from my windshield.
A parking ticket.
I was a little nervous but I assumed it was just a warning.
Nope.
It was a $275 ticket.
I started FREAKING OUT. How in the world was I supposed to drop $275 on a ticket?! I panicked (tears may or may not have been involved).
But then I noticed something… my car didn’t match the one listed on the ticket.
SCORE.
Campus Safety made a mistake and selected the wrong car! I thought to myself, “YES! I won’t have to pay for the ticket because when Campus Safety finds out that it was a mistake, I would literally be on the other side of the country if not, across the WORLD!”
My boyfriend interrupted my thoughts saying I had to go to Campus Safety and tell them they made a mistake.
WAT.
I was torn. First off, I highly dislike confrontation. Second, I often avoid situations that I’m very very scared of. Third, I knew he was right.
I kept going back and forth, back and forth trying to decide what I was going to say. All of a sudden, we were there. Parked in front of the Campus Safety office. We prayed and ran through how I would go about the conversation; by telling the truth.
I have always struggled with stepping up and telling the truth no matter how hard or easy it is to say. My first instinct is to tell the person what they want to hear, avoid the situation altogether, or just make something up. I know it’s not the right thing to do but in the moment, it’s easy.
As I walked up to the door, I prayed for God to bind the lies and to give me strength, and He did. God truly answers our prayers. He hears us when we cry out to Him and He demonstrates how much He deeply, deeply loves us everyday.
I claimed that stupid ticket, I told the truth and explained the mistake that was made. The officer kind of gave me a hard time about it so I was shocked when he WAVED THE TICKET.
Didn’t charge me. AT ALL.
All because I told him the truth.
He literally said, “I waived the ticket because I appreciate your honesty.”
I think God shows his love for us in specific ways, catering to our different personalities. In this moment, I was reminded of the Lord’s grace and appreciation for obeying him. If we come to the Lord with the truth and step up by owning the sins we have committed, he sees that.
The truth won’t always produce a reward like getting a $275 ticket waived. More often, it will cause even greater pain than when it is hidden but there is hope in knowing we are obeying the Lord through our honesty. In John 8:31-32, Jesus says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
And we are free indeed!
Psalm 25:5 says, “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”
This verse is a perfect prayer for whenever we am tempted to be dishonest because there is power in the name of Jesus and there is power in the Word of God!
Have you ever experienced grace from someone when you told the truth? Leave a comment below, I would love to hear your stories!
