My Broken Windshield

Finally today I can say I have a brand new windshield! This past Friday, when I was leaving work I noticed my windshield had two small cracks. I don't park under a tree and it wasn't obvious it had taken a hit by anything. It was two lines that you couldn't even feel and I had no idea how they got there. It didnt seem to have a point of impact. It just seemed to have cracked within the glass itself.

 

I immediately went home to check where we could replace it and how much it would cost because I was worried it would break even more. Of course because of the weekend, the estimates we got were extremely high and I didn't want my weekend to be interrupted by having to take it somewhere to be fixed. The weekend went by and the windshield made it through so we were determined to find a place to take it to monday. When Monday came and I shared the story with my awesome knowledgeable coworker she told me it should be covered under my insurance. Duh!!! Why didn't I think of that? After calling my good neighbor statefarm, we find out they can replace it free of cost and to make it even sweeter they could come to my job and do it in the parking lot as I work.

 

I was so happy and relieved to know that I didn't waste my weekend or money paying for something I could have gotten for free. I was also somewhat surprised it never crossed my mind to call my insurance since it wasn't related to a car accident. It was very difficult for me to also drive around and ignore the fact these cracks were there and kept thinking the glass was going to shatter. But it didn't and thank God my car looks new again.

 

But after this 5 day windshield saga, you wouldn't believe how much God spoke to me using my Broken Windshield as an example. Yes...  my windshield.  God must know I'm a visual cause He always uses great illustrations for me to get The point. 

 

Our lives are like my windshield. We start off new...unbroken.... perfectly able to see through it. Until one day, when we least expect it we either take a big direct hit like a rock which shatters us, or we start breaking within due to the circumstances around us. We break because of everything we go through in life.... from relationships, dissapointment, lies and hardships. And we don't always see it as soon as it happens. Or perhaps you do and you want to pretend no one sees it, not even you.....and see how much longer it can last without falling apart.

 

Or perhaps you're like me. And you start looking for ways to fix it. You are looking for solutions and it all seems so costly and time consuming..... and you keep driving around hoping it doesn't shatter before you fix it. Trying to hold it all together despite the brokenness inside of you.

 

Until one day you either decide to tell someone or God sends someone along to tell you that it doesn't have to stay broken.... and that you don't have to pay to replace it..... 

 

And that becomes the day you realize like me that nothing sounds better then free..... and that it's so good to know this information after finding out how costly it could have been to replace it on my own.

 

My life was broken at one point just like my windshield. I was unhappy in my marriage, in my circumstances. Hurt by people, betrayed and lied to. And felt the weight of the world was too much to handle. I didn’t know how to fix the mess it was, and for  a while I kept looking for ways to fix it. Even though inside I was falling apart by anger, regret, feelings of rejection, I felt like repairing me was too costly and time consuming.

 

Until one day, I was given the good news that just like Statefarm, there was someone who would take my life and replace it for free. His name is Jesus. And I was told I no longer had to keep searching for a good deal, or hold on to the broken mess I was. Jesus knew this would happen just like the car insurance did. He knew normal wear and tear, and driving too long would eventually cause a broken windshield….. and that’s what HE was waiting on. He was waiting for me to realize I couldn’t fix it. I couldn’t do it on my own and I didn’t have to. Because all I had to do was call on Him as my savior so that my shattered life could be replaced by the perfect life He lived and the perfect sacrifice He made at the cross to pay for my sins and mistakes. And it didn’t take me jumping through hoops or driving anywhere or paying excessive amounts of money…. just like the auto glass repair, He came to me…. and did the work right where I was. Since that day, I see clearly. Its hard to drive when youre looking through broken glass….. but with Him I don’t have to. My life, like my windshield is brand new.

 

 Today I encourage you to stop trying to avoid the brokenness in your life.  I encourage you to stop trying to fix it yourself or settle and think that you can drive around like that without having it shatter completely. Take this as your good co worker informing you that your insurance covers it. It doesn't mean it doesn't cost anything to fix the sin and mess you've made, it just means if we call on HIM, its paid in full. It means that when you get the invoice, it says bill JESUS. Not you. I encourage you to take the chance of calling on Him, because you have nothing to lose except your broken windshield.

 

love, Meli

 

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord"- Romans 6:23

"... but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."- Romans 5:8