Thankful for not killing kids (for different reasons)

On the drive back from the library, the air is still dark and thick and night. The road is curvy and up and down.

As I navigate one such curve, the car in front of me slams on its brakes. I struggle to imitate the maneuver to keep from rear ending the car.

Just then, I realize the situation. Two teenage kids dressed in gray and black are walking on the side of the road. Idiots.

I swerve to avoid hitting them. And honk loudly as I pass.

For my sake. See, I recognized afterward that the reason I was afraid in that situation wasn’t because the teenagers might have been hurt or killed. I was afraid because I didn’t want to be the one hurting or killing them with my car.

In other words, I was thankful I didn’t hit them, not so much that they weren’t hit. That’s a difference that matters.

A lesson’s in this somewhere. I’ll leave it to you to find it for now.