Damaged Goods and Car Wrecks

Yesterday I got into my 4^th wreck. Shocked? You shouldn’t be. This is my fourth wreck in four years. I could be wrong but I am starting to sense a pattern here. The wreck occurred yesterday on a rainy morning and it is true what they say- people in Austin don’t know how to drive when it is raining. I hit a lady from behind after she swerved in front of me to dodge someone coming into her lane. While I understand trying to avoid hitting someone, can you please not do the same thing to someone else? Geez. I don’t know if you have ever been in a wreck, but there is a moment of stillness right before you hit someone. In that moment all I could think about was how much it was going to suck dealing with the insurance after this- such a long and annoying process. After hitting the woman and seeing her white paint all over the front on my bumper I began to grow frustrated. I was frustrated that something I have worked so hard to keep clean and new was once again damaged and wrecked.

Believe it or not, this accident got me thinking about our own self-worth and Christian image. In our weaker moments some of us like to think we are “damaged goods” when we reflect on the bad choices of our past. Who would want to marry someone like me? Someone who has been scarred damaged and hurt by past relationships. We begin to give up on our Christian walk and think that we are too far-gone for God to restore us. We make the mistake of neglecting the things in our life that keep us new and restored, such as prayer, reading the word and living in community. These things are essential to keeping us running the Race at full speed.

I like to think that God looks at me the way I look at my car. Yes my car has bumps, bruises and scratches from past wreckage but it’s not dead. Despite all of its mishaps, I will continue to get its oil changed, check the tires and go in for a tune up when needed. Just because its physical appearance has changed, I have not given up on it because it is still capable of doing what it was created to do. Much like my Christian walk. I am dirty, messy and complicated but God has not given up on me because I am still capable of doing what He created me to do.

So if your life with Christ hasn’t always been pretty and maybe it’s been scarred with a little bit of door dings along the way; don’t lose faith. God still has a lot of miles left on that Christian walk of yours.

“Create in me a new heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.” –Psalm 50:10-12 (ESV)