I was driving home after tutoring. I needed to get off of the lane that was leading me straight to the 73 (a toll road), but there was a car that would not drive faster/slower to leave room for me to change lanes. I ended up taking the 73 and took the nearest exit to drive back down to an exit where I could drive home.
But I had forgotten that this particular route would not lead me to the exit that I wanted to take. In fact, it "skipped" the exit that I needed to take. I ended up having to drive down a bit to the next exit at which I had to pay.
They only took cash/change for the toll payments. They even had a machine that exchanged bills for coins. But I had used up all of my cash to put onto a copy-card at school earlier today. I had nothing on me except useless credit cards. I needed to pay NOW or else...
FINE:
$47.51
Its such an odd amount to be fined. They could have rounded it off to $50.00 or even $47.50 would have been more reasonable. But I digress.
I took out the pennies, quarter, nickel, and dimes that I had in my wallet and poured it into the machine. The machine didn't even specify how much I owed. It just said amount to pay: 00.00
But when I started putting in the money, the numbers started to come up:
$00.50
Luckily, I found a quarter on the floor:
$00.25
A quarter?! But I have no more coins! I have nothing more to add into the machine.. where am I going to find a quarter?
There was a black beaten up sports car waiting behind me. (oh no) I figured maybe this man has another quarter.. I went up to his window. I came to face a man with rugged features. It looked as though he hadn't shaved, or perhaps he thought that it looked cool. He didn't seem like someone who had a whole lot. He actually looked a bit intimidating.
Desperately, I asked if he had another quarter. He pulled up a dollar bill and told me that that was all that he had. I told him that the machine only takes coins, but that there was a machine that exchanges dollar bills for quarters. He went up to the machine with me and exchanged it for quarters. He asked me how much I had put it in there, and I honestly didn't remember.
"I think, like, 50 cents? " I told him.
He just dropped a quarter in there and told me that I should drive through.
The light turned green, I hopped in the car, and drove.
I felt horrible for leaving him behind. I didn't even know if he had enough money to go through. I pulled my car off to the side with my emergency lights on. I asked him how much he owed...
I looked at the sign:
$00.25
I FELT SOOOOO BAD!!! I TOOK HIS QUARTER!!!!!
I apologized repeatedly and he told me not to feel bad about it...
After a 5 second pause, he looked to me and asked, "Do you have a quarter?"
I told him that I would search my car for one.
I looked through the glove compartments, the ground, the bottom of my car, my cup holders, my backpack, the bottom of my purse, the trunk... and there was not even a quarter to be seen. I ran back to his car window to give him the bad news. I didn't have anything. Not even a penny for him.
I asked him if he needed to be anywhere soon 'cause then I would try to get a quarter and bring it back to him if he was willing to wait. He took a look at the signpost about the fine. He looked back at me and told me that he'd be paying for the fine. I offered to pay for it or to even half it.. but he told me that he'd just pay for all of it.
And with that, a mere stranger showed me kindness and grace.
I was supposed to pay the $47.51. But now its not on my account that the fine needs to be paid. He had the sufficiency, but because he took it on himself to pay for whatever I was short of, it is now for him to be indebt and to pay the price of his shortcoming.
The whole ride home, I was reminded of God's grace. How I fell so short, yet though I did nothing to merit this man's grace, it was in His power and it was with His compassion that He chose to make me whole. My shortcoming was placed on His son so that I would not have to face the greatest consequence: death.
7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
8But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!
[Romans 5:7-9]
