Clarity

It’s winter in Chicago, which doesn’t have the same connotations as, let’s say, winter in Yellowstone - a pristine snowy whiteness covering everything…no, it’s winter in Chicago which doesn't mean that things aren't covered, they are; the cars, the roads , the sidewalks and the signs, but they're not covered in snow, they're covered in a layer of salt.

Every car is the same grayish color as the car next to it with slight undertones of the color the car actually is, peeping through the salt.

For whatever reason, there is never windshield wiper fluid in the cars that I drive. I get this thin film of kicked up salt and gunk that dries on there and when the sun shines it’s even harder to see where you are going.

So, there are those times, that I finally stop at a gas station and clean off my windshield and I am always amazed at how bad it was once it’s clean.

Before it was bothersome but it wasn’t that bad, until I get it back to the way it’s supposed to be and then I realize how bad it really was.

It’s the same way in my life. Things are okay, they’re not bad; my attitudes and my actions and my responses. There's just that gunk that builds up from daily travel down the roads of life. But then I find that I'm having trouble seeing my way as clearly.

So finally I'll stop and be "washed by the cleansing of God's word" (Ephesians 5:26) and all of a sudden things are a lot clearer. I remember the way they should be.

So, as I will now endeavor to keep the windshield clean so that I can see my way, I will also be more conscious to take the time to stop and wipe away that which builds up day by day on my heart.