My mom has been gone for more than 30 years, but many of the things she said still echo in my mind. Most are good lessons to remember or nuggets of wisdom to recall.

My wife and I enjoy watching some of the YouTube channels that document many of the bizarre situations that police find themselves in when encountering drunk drivers. Many of the videos remind me of something my mom observed while she, my sister and I sat in the car outside a fast-food restaurant after my dad’s burial in San Antonio.  With her observation came one of her oft-used expressions.

The three of us sat in the car and a young man walked up on us. He was clearly under the influence of something. A lot of something. He spoke gently, asking for money. I declined as he and I stood, me at the car door and he at the rear bumper. My mom and sister watched. He accepted my answer gracefully, peacefully and thanked me for listening before drifting away. His demeanor was striking, his eyes more so.

As I started the car, mom said, “At one time he was a mom’s little baby boy with a life of potential ahead of him.” It was a sobering observation that I try to recall whenever I see or interact with someone who has, by choice or circumstance, found themselves in similar situations as the man in the parking lot. Then, she added the clincher.

“There, but for the grace of God, go I.”

Mom had a challenging life, living through the Depression, watching a daughter die of leukemia at the age of five and a myriad of other challenges. She never blamed God for the challenges but appreciated His grace for things she did not have as part of her life.

I recall her saying that – though I wish I could “hear” her voice saying it – often. No matter the challenges that I have faced, there are so many challenges and conditions that are much worse from which I have been spared. Maybe not forever, but for the time. And for that, I am grateful.

“Amazing grace” saves us in many ways.