in an instant

This morning on the way to school I passed a traffic accident. An old boat of a car was halfway up the little hill that runs alongside the freeway. Two other cars were mangled and tangled up a few feet away. It had just happened. The police had just arrived.

As I passed the wreck on my right, to my left a van came up beside me. The lone woman driving it sullenly made the sign of the cross as she passed.

Due to my own issues surrounding my Catholic upbringing I have not only abandoned the gesture but have come to view it with slight disdain.

And yet…the graceful sweep of the woman’s hand across her heart… an instant response...invoking the care of her Savior for a stranger…

I drove on, noting the sprinklers in the morning sun and my own omission. Several miles later I had still not uttered a prayer of my own.

It is astounding how swiftly God can check my heart. In an instant. In the time it takes for one car to pass another.