DUI's and blind spots

The other day a young woman was telling me how she'd recently been cited with her 7th DUI.  I wanted to say, "How the heck do you still have a license?", but instead I responded by saying, "So your days of drinking and driving are behind you now, right?"

You would have thought there were horns growing out of my head the way she looked at me when she matter-of-factly said, "I don't drink and drive."

Um..... what?  Last I knew DUI stood for "driving under the influence."  Although they maybe should consider looking at the influence that massive quantities of chocolate, coffee or potato ole's have on one's ability to drive safely, I'm pretty sure the "influence" they are speaking of is alcohol.  Did I mishear her?  Did she not mean to say DUI.  I wasn't really sure what question to ask next.   So me, in my typical smooth and eloquent way with words, said, "I guess, um, ya, but, um, did...didn't....I thought you said.....didn't you just say you've been cited 7 times for DUIs?"

"Well ya, but I don't drink and drive."   At this point words were beyond me.  Delusional!  This girl is absolutely delusional.  Then she explained.  "The only time I've ever drove after drinking is if I'm at a party or somewhere where things are going downhill fast and I need to get out of there or something like that, then of course I'm going to drive cause I'm not going to stick around that place, it's not safe." 

Huh.

So I guess drinking and driving is bad, illegal and unsafe when you don't have a good excuse for it, but if you can come up with a reason to rationalize it away, then it's not REALLY drinking and driving and it's not all that unsafe.  Delusional. 

Later that night I was driving home on the interstate when a friend text me.  I replied to her text and mentioned the fact that I was on my way home.  Then she said, "Why are you texting me while you're driving?" 

My matter-of-factly reply?  "I'm being safe- don't you worry." 

Her response was short.  "Don't text and drive."

I was a little put out by her curt response.  After all , I thought to myself, I never text and drive!  The only time I text and drive is if no one else is in the car with me.   I never text and drive in town with all the stop and go traffic (you know, cause it's so much safer to text when flying down the interstate at 75 mph). Besides, I make sure I only type a letter or two at a time so that I make sure I'm good and safe.  See?!? I don't text and drive!  Delusional.

I learned two things that day.  The first was humility.  "How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."  Luke 6: 42.  How easy it is for me to see the specks in the eyes of others while walking around with a two-by-four in mine.  Secondly, I was reminded about the importance of community.

We all have areas in our lives that need to be transformed and sanctified.  Most of us can pinpoint some of those areas.  But there are other areas.  Blind spots that we simply cannot see.  We all have them.  And until someone near to us speaks to those issues, we often can't see them for what they are.  True community is vital to our growth.  A place where we can live raw life together, sharing in each other's triumphs and struggles and speaking the truth in love.  A place where we trust one another with our most vulnerable moments.  This is true community. 

Someone needed to tell me plain and simply to stop texting and driving , for me to truly see it.  While I can't see the other issues in my blind spot, I can be intentional about surrounding myself with a community of people who are willing to say the hard things when they need to be said.  Beyond just being around wise people who share my same values and beliefs and are willing to both encourage and speak truth to me, true community involves me intentionally being vulnerable with them.  Taking off my pretty mask and knocking down my fortress walls.  Inviting them into this beautifully messy process of sanctification.


Things to reflect on:
1.  Do I have wise people in my life who share my same beliefs and values  AND are willing to both encourage and speak truth to me?  Hebrews 10:24-25
2.  Am I truly being open and vulnerable  with the community of people around me?  Or do they only see the polished version of me?  Ephesians 4:15-16
3.  Am I seeing a lot of specks in the eyes of the people around me?  If so, ask God to help you to see the plank in your own eye!  Luke 6:42