I'm sick of Paris.

Seriously, the media coverage on the saga of Paris Hilton and her impending jail time is really annoying to me and a huge waste of time. It looks like that although for so long we've sent the message-- if you have money and you're an important person by celebrity standards you can do anything you want and get a way with it-- Paris will not slide under the radar without paying her dues and consequences by serving time in jail behind bars. I am so glad that in this case the judge ordered her to come back and spend her time in jail. I really have no sympathy or compassion for her situation. Maybe that seems calloused of me, but I really don't care. I think that any time someone decides to be irresponsible and step behind a wheel after drinking and gets caught the consequences must be severe.

Last year a friend of ours got drunk at the local bar in small town USA. He got behind the wheel at about 2:00 am with a woman friend in the passenger seat. Approximately 10 minutes later he wrapped his car around a semi-truck that was parked along the side of the freeway entrance. When the EMT's arrived at the scene the passenger of our friend's vehicle was already dead. Meanwhile he was air lifted to Harborview where he spent the next week in critical condition and on life support. During that week his family was at his side. His two young sons, ages 23 and 21 and 12 year old daughter were there to watch as the doctors declared there was no more to be done and removed him from life support system.

To this day I still struggle to reconcile that situation in my mind. I struggle to find grace and forgiveness for something that was completely preventable. This man, our friend had served on worship team, the leadership team and as an elder in our previous church. He had a young family who still needed the guidance and presence of their father. I especially think of his 12 year old daughter who will spend the rest of her years without the nurture of her father in her life. And this is the legacy he left behind. Their last memory of him would be this irresponsible act that took two lives.

Recently another close friend of mine got a DUI. He was sent to jail. After being released he was bogged down with the inconvenience of more court appearances and alcohol assessments and feeling discouraged and annoyed he was having difficulty not feeling like the system was too tough on him. I had the privilege of telling him how completely blessed he was-- that amidst the running around from one court room to another class to another parole officer, etc. he was completely blessed. "You see", I said, "you get to walk a way this time. You get to WALK. No one was hurt or killed. You get to walk. God's blessing is upon you and you get the chance to turn it around right now and change". Yeah, not the most exciting thing to hear when you're discouraged and annoyed, but that is the truth-- God blesses us by opening our eyes to make the appropriate changes in order to be the best stewards with the gifts he's given us.

All that to say, I think we all make dumb choices with the thought that it won't hurt anyone and only we will know about it so it's no big deal and that even includes grossly irresponsible acts such as drinking and driving. Yet, God keeps giving second chances, ones I hope we will grab on to in order to use all that we are and all that we have to bring glory and blessing. My friend who died doesn't get that second chance but I hope to learn from his story and share it that it might help us all to be responsible in all that we do.