Sheila and I have built a tradition of a day trip on our birthdays. In May, we usually hit the beach or coast. For her. For January, I choose the mountains, usually wherever we get the most snow. This year, four days of storms preceded the day, but the storms stayed in liquid form. So between Big Bear and Julian and Idyllwild, I went with the latter. The Cranston Fire devastated the region last summer so I wanted to discover the extent of the damage, hit the local candy store and our favorite mountain restaurant.
South of town, the fire had devastated the area for miles, often leaving barren moonscapes in place of the verdant pine and cedar forests. Yeah, I nearly cried. And while the fire didn’t touch the town, it could have circled it, so we headed north. Thankfully, that area had been saved. But a sight next to the road caught my attention—a large granite boulder shattered—by the roots of a pine tree growing through the weaknesses and crevasses in the rock and pushing them apart. I later learned scientists call that biological weathering. Give it more time, and that boulder will become sandy soil.
But it forced me to think about events that can similarly shatter our lives. OK, we’re all imperfect with flaws. And all sins bring damage, in differing degrees. Sometimes the damage can be restored, like pic above of the palm tree growing in between a brick sidewalk and the 2 x 4 edging. I found a pic that matched the rock, it too is above. But the boulder can’t be Superglued back together. Some damages lasts. And even the “smaller” things, like the palm, if left untended for too long, can shatter permanently.
Yes, God offers relational restoration when we confess and repent, but the damage often remains lifelong. Yes, I’ve been shattered. Several times. I want to avoid further ones. So let’s think together. Do we have any issues that could shatter us, if we leave them long enough?
Kick Starting the Application
Have you allowed a sin that shattered your life? Did you see it coming? How could you have avoided it? Examine your life now. Do you find anything with the potential to shatter you? What steps can and will you take to avoid that? Do you find some smaller areas that need tending? How can God help with these? How can others help?