James 4:6, But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

It was the hour of rush and my friend and I were departing with the masses on route to home. All measures of noise were among us: cars honking, buses screeching, feet pounding, random people appearing to chat to nobody until you notice the little white buds tucked into their ears.

We were in her car attempting to merge into the flow of traffic because one of the lanes was blocked off for construction. Stop. Start. Stop. Start.

No one was letting her into the line so my friend was forced to cut off the individual behind us because the road had run out and she would have been stuck holding up traffic. All it took was four seconds.

The individual behind us was not impressed as my friend did a customary polite wave while choosing to ignore any impolite gestures that may have come from the other car. I sat back and watched with a saddened heart all measures of gracelessness unfold on the road. Are we not all trying to accomplish the same mission? The mission to get home.

It is so peculiar to me that those fleeting four seconds can easily become a conquest. With unholy aggression, we reach out clumsily to capture them for ourselves seeking some sort of validation or vindication on our behalf. We respond as if those four seconds belonged to us and how dare someone try to steal them.

Yes, the ‘me-first’ attitude. The same attitude we work so hard to correct in our children has the keen ability to present itself in the most unflattering of circumstances when we are not paying attention. I believe that working-out of our faith is not just a day-by-day challenge, but often a moment-by-moment challenge.

Some days- some moments- are more challenging than others. Each and every one of us has different days and different challenges.

I am reminded this day that we just don’t know what the last twenty-four hours has looked like for the stranger sitting in front of us. The stranger honking their horn. The stranger sitting on the stuffy bus. The stranger pounding their sore feet on the sidewalk. The stranger talking to the air with hard, uncomfortable earbuds stuffed into their ears.

All may be strangers, but each one has the same commonality: a God who loves them whether they recognize it or not, and an inbred desire to make their way home.

Father, help me- help us- to always remember that we need to offer to grace to all others we encounter. May we remember that gracelessness can easily dictate the momentary condition of our soul- our emotions- and it is grace- Your grace- that shapes the condition of our heart. Amen.

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