But "so and so" did the same thing....

Imagine this. You and five of your friends come up with a plot to jack some candy from the convenience store down the street from school. One of you actually buys something while you guys act like you're looking while filling up your pockets with everything you can get a five finger discount on. Suppose that while you were all walking out, door open, seconds away from freedom, a pack of Starburst falls out of one of your friend's pockets. Everyone is gone out of the parking lot, but one of you is left behind. Well I was that guy that got left behind.

All of my life, I've always been THAT GUY that got caught. If 50 people did the same thing, I was the 51st guy that got busted. I wouldn't say I was a Bebe's kid, but I was your typical bad a$$ kid coming up. I did more than my fair share of things that, in retrospect, were INCREDIBLY dumb, but for some reason I always faced the consequences. My bad actions always met an opposing and equal reaction. I used to be a klepto when I was a kid. I always got caught stealing. In 7th grade, I changed a grade on my report card. BUSTED. In high school, on senior ditch day, who got busted? YA BOY. Had people over when my mom was at work. BUSTED. Drove with no insurance. BUSTED. Suspended license? BUSTED. I cheated on a girl. Busted for that too. The other day at work, I cut a corner with a customer...you guessed it...BUSTED.

I told my mom that I swear I've always had the worst luck of anyone I knew. We talked about how as far back as I can remember, I never got away with the same things my friends could get away with in their sleep. We had a good laugh at some of the stupid I drowned myself in coming up, but she dropped a jewel on my (like she always does). She said that God has His hand on some of us. Not implying that we all aren't God's children, but there seems to be some of us that God holds to a different standard. Like how in Boyz N Da Hood, Trey got outta the car when Doughboy went looking for Ricky's killer, God has a different plan for some of us, so he leads us in a different direction.

If I haven't learned anything in my life, I know there is a fine line between where I am today, and being young, black, and in jail or dead. I can look back to situations in my life where the outcome could have been completely different had God not have been watching over me.

For much of my life, even now, I have been frustrated by God's plan to keep me on the straight and narrow, but at the very same time, I am extremely grateful for God's grace. I am by no means perfect, and will never be, but it is good to know that whenever I get close to the edge, God always pulls me back.