This morning I woke up to a problem. I venture to say it’s a problem we all have at some point. Actually, you might even have it right now… a dirty windshield. Now, this didn’t happen over night. But, it’s been bugging me for weeks, probably months even. Slowly a smudge with get on there, so I’d use my sleeve to clean it off as I drive the girls to school. I’d notice something on the way to get in the car so I’d use a paper towel or rag to wipe it off.
Before too long, the windshield was foggy, smudged, and dirty all over. But it happened over time. And do you know what I kept telling myself? “I really need to clean the windshield.” But I wouldn’t. You want to know why? I made a list of excuses over time…
– I don’t have enough time right now.
– I can still sort of see through it.
– It’s not really that bad.
– I’m in a hurry to get the girls to school.
– I’ll wash the car this weekend.
– And… (insert various other reasons here)
But today I had enough. As I packed the car with Barbie backpacks and princess lunch boxes, I decided I couldn’t go on driving with a dirty windshield. How long did it take me? 10 minutes. You know what it changed? Everything.
I wasn’t yelling at the kids to keep it down. I was focusing on driving, but didn’t have to overly focus through a foggy windshield. I could see cars and what was happening more clearly and ahead of me. No wondering what was going to happen through the haze. It was almost like the windshield wasn’t even there. And I think that’s the point of glass, to protect us but not even really be noticed.
I had become so focused on the cleanliness (or lack thereof) of the windshield I had lost focus of the main thing…
Driving & Doing So Safely.
How many times have you lost your focus?Â
When have things become so cloudy that it begins to get more about you, the mess, and whatever is going on around you- instead of about what God wants for you and mission He’s set you on? We get caught up in drama, OUR wants, what’s best for ME, etc. What if we decided to do something about the smudged, foggy, and dirty windshield? What if we stopped trying to maneuver around it, and instead dealt with it and got back on track?
“We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!”
1 Corinthians 13:12 (MSG)
Now, one day we’ll see this life and God in the most clear way possible. That day isn’t here just yet. So, until then we should try to strive to clear our vision from everything that impairs us. Anything that gets in the way. Anything selfish. Anything not on mission with God’s mission for us. To be “People Helping People, Find & Follow Jesus.” Praying for you as you to clean your windshield. For God to lead us in where to make changes, asking people who are following God if our head is on right or not, and following those who God has put in our lives to influence and care for us.
If we’re not there yet, maybe it’s time to clean the windshield.
Praying for my Forefront family as we strive to clean the windshield. Or as our core values say, “Shake The Dust.”
