Scraping the Windshield

There are few things in life I despise more than scraping windshields.  My hands get cold, and chips of ice make it into my coat and down my shirt as my children sit waving to me from the warm car interior.

Due to this abhorrence of  the whole process, I usually cheat by scraping as little of the windshield as possible; doing just enough to give me a hint of visibility.  Without fail, this shortcut leads to me crouching down, peeking  through the tiny hole the defrost has begun to make.  Admittedly, there have been several times I have actually had to stick my head out the window in order to see. 

Another one of my tricks is to spray copious amounts of washer fluid all over the glass with the wipers on full blast.  This, however, just causes the liquid to freeze, making a pretty crystal collage my children ooh and ahhh over, while I again roll down the window to stick out my head.

Honestly, the whole thing is ludicrous, but I do it almost every time!


Sadly, this ridiculous behavior is not limited to my windshield.  I find myself doing the very same thing with my heart and my soul, ignoring the frost that must be scraped away, or taking shortcuts to hurry up the process.  In doing this, I short myself from seeing clearly, living freely, and experiencing the surpassing grace of becoming more like my Savior.  

For example, I have a sin that beats me almost every time.  My solution?  I strive to stay away from the opportunities which supply the sin.  This is a great first step, but alone it will never do the trick.  It is simply the first scrape of the windshield.  The real work, the real thawing occurs when I meet with my God and chisel down to the deep wound or the faulty heart's desire which draws me to the sin in the first place. It is a process which hurts, but one that must be undertaken to gain true visibility.

Recently, this concept has become very personal.   For the past few weeks I have been dealing with an old wound which God has decided its time to defrost.  I know it will take work, and in honesty, I am scared.  It is more comfortable for me to just spray it with a pretty Christian smile, or wipe it off with  a few well known verses.   A few days ago I shared this with a dear friend who encouraged me to accept God's invitation to healing; to do the work, to scrape off the ice. 

I'm not sure what your day holds or what ice has accumulated on your windshield.  However, I pass on my friend's invitation to you.  I invite you to do the work which will lead to sight.  This, and only this, will give the clear vision to see what God has in store for those He loves.

Plus, we all look really silly with our heads hanging out the car windows of life!