Crash. Really!
A funny, and thought-provoking, devotional by a talented young writer friend named Elizabeth Veldbloom. Remember the name, I'm sure you'll see her in print elsewhere!
Crash
By Elizabeth Veldboom
It was a 2000 Ford Taurus in mint condition, complete with iPod hookup; it ran well and only had 60,000 miles on it. My first car. Not a scratch or dent could be seen on its shiny white surface. That is, until I crashed into my niece's playhouse.
It was the day after buying it and I couldn't wait to drive. Unfortunately, that same day I was also running late for work. New to the car, I was still kind of trying to learn my way around. My mind was really only focused on one thing: get to work. I shifted to drive and hit the gas. Startled, I realized that I was going forward: straight for my niece's playhouse. I had meant to put it in reverse!
I panicked and froze. What should I do? Change direction? Shift from drive to reverse? Before I could decide, I witnessed the little pink playhouse crumple in on itself and heard a terrible grinding underneath my car. Finally, the impulse hit me: brake.
I got out of the car slowly, dreading what I was going to find. A little house shook off its foundations. My niece's plastic wagon half demolished. And a nice, new dent on my nice, new car.
Really? The day after I had bought it, and I'd already crashed it?
Life can be like crashing a car. We have moments where we desperately want to hit reverse and go back and change what we did. What made it worse was that I'd known better. I am not a reckless or stupid driver, I just made a dumb mistake! You hit reverse to back out, drive to go forward. And I knew that. But somehow, I'd still made the mistake. And it cost me.
Even when we know better, we still make dumb mistakes in life. We knew better than to tell that lie, to break that promise, or to hurt that person. After starting a life with God, we long to change our old, sinful natures to honor him with our lives. So we make a commitment to watch our mouths tomorrow, to stop being jealous, or to keep our thoughts from straying where they shouldn't, only to crash the very next day.
Really? Only the day after deciding to start anew and we've already crashed?
The Apostle Paul described it this way: "The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate." (Romans 7:15)
The only thing I wanted to do after my crash was never get into a car again. But as anyone will tell you, you can't live life without driving. Neither can you live life without making some mistakes. You just have to get back at it.
The way my dad reacted to me crashing my brand new car was the only good thing about the incident. He quickly and graciously forgave me, telling me he was glad that it had been at home in the driveway and not out on the highway. And then he encouraged me to get back on the road.
Our Heavenly Father isn't any different. He is quick to forgive, gracious, and loving. We may make the same mistake over and over again, but we may take comfort in the fact that he will never give up on us.
It may not be possible to hit reverse, but at least we can remember which gear not to shift into the next time.
