Kathleen Hauk, of Barrington, Illinois, was delighted when she discovered she
and her husband were going to be parents. But the news didn't slow her down. "In
winter, 1999, I became vice president of marketing for a new website, and the
job was very stressful," she says. "Even though I was five months along at that
point, I couldn't slow down."
On the way home one frigid evening, Kathleen was driving on a six-lane highway,
well over the speed limit, and so distracted by thoughts of work that she didn't
notice the police car behind her--until he turned on his lights. Surprised and
embarrassed, Kathleen pulled left, onto the median strip.
The officer walked over to her car as traffic whizzed past. "License and
registration," he said curtly. Meekly, Kathleen surrendered the papers. She had
been wrong, and she knew it. If only life wasn't so hectic..
The officer looked at the papers, then at her. "I'm not going to write you a
ticket," he said. "I want to save you the embarrassment of standing in front of
a judge in your condition to explain why you were speeding, and risking both
your life, and the life of your baby!" Instead, he handed her a warning.
He was right, Kathleen knew. That's exactly what she had been doing. Somehow she
had forgotten what was really important in life. Before she could apologize, the
officer leaned in the window again. "Stay here until I tell you it's safe to
pull back into traffic," he told her, then turned and walked back to his car.
Kathleen nodded, took a few deep breaths, then looked in her rear view for his
signal. But how odd! There was nothing behind her now, no traffic on this
heavily traveled road, and no squad car. How could he have disappeared so
quickly, without signaling her into the traffic flow as he'd said he would do?
Slowly, Kathleen pulled back onto the road and drove home.
Only later did she realize that the officer couldn't have known that she was
pregnant-it was dark and she wore a heavy coat. Nor was there a name or a badge
number written on the warning ticket, just a caution against unsafe driving.
"Gradually I began to suspect that this police officer was my baby's guardian
angel, sent to remind me that no matter how busy I am or will be, my child must
always come first," she says.
Since then, Kathleen takes time to smell the roses. For her and her family, each
day is a gift.
Copyrighted 2001 by Joan Wester Anderson. For more stories of God's love, visit
the website at: www.joanwanderson.com
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