One quick glance at my teenager’s car and you cannot help but notice that he had an unfortunate incident. Blake and his friend were backing out of their parking spaces. Blake went first but before he could clear and get out of the way, his friend backed right into him.  It left a massive dent in the door.  I am not talking about a little ding; I mean a crater that can be seen a mile away!  The impact caved the door in and has rendered him unable to roll the window down. Blake’s car has other scrapes and dents but none near as obvious or limiting as this one. This one will have to be repaired to take care of the obvious as well as return it to full working order.

Our lives are a lot like Blake’s car.  There are a few small dings and some places where the paint is scratched.  Some are hardly noticeable unless you get close enough to see them.  Every one of the dents and scrapes has a story – some more amusing than others and some more painful than the rest. That is how it is with us.  We all have some imperfections – flaws in our character, weaknesses in our personality, and cracks from our past – that most people do not even notice until they start getting close to us.  When they do, we can often share a chuckle or sometimes a tear about the story behind the imperfections.  But every once in a while, there is a dent that others can see a mile away!  Yet, we are usually less talkative about the craters than we are the small dings. Perhaps it is just too painful.  Or maybe we have gotten so used to it we do not even pay it any attention.  Blake has been driving around with the door that way for a while now and thinks nothing about having to open his door at a drive through!

We dropped Blake’s car off at the repair center yesterday. It will take a couple of days worth of hammering, chipping, sanding and painting but the result will be a door that is shiny and new and a window that will roll down in the drive through! There will always be a story behind the unfortunate incident that left a crater in the door but the narrative will end with the result of being made new.

What about us?  Are we willing to do what it takes to get our scrapes and dents – the small dings and the huge craters – made new?   If so, we are going to have to be candid about those places in our lives.  We have to be honest with God, honest with ourselves, and honest with others. It does not matter who’s at fault. The simple truth is that it is our crater and we cannot keep driving through the drive through and opening the door. The apostle James encourages us, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” (James 5:16). When we are willing to confess our bumps and bruises, it is like dropping the car off at the repair shop. God begins a process of hammering, chipping, sanding and painting to make things shiny and new.  There will always be a story behind the dings and craters, but the narrative will end with the result of being made new!

Ryan