Windshields

I had my windshield replaced in the fall. There was a crack that ran along the bottom of the windshield, from one end to the other. If that wasn't bad enough... I also had a major rock hit on the driver's side. It didn't look too bad from the inside, but when I touched it on the outside, it was actually jagged and missing pieces of glass. Hmmm... if something hits near there again... that might not be good! I also noticed that driving into the sun was a bit daunting... My windshield seemed to be full of tiny specks! No matter, how much I cleaned it with window cleaner, those darn specks wouldn't go away.

So... new windshield and new outlook on life! Wow!! So clear... so clean... so easy to see through! It's like it's not even there... and of course, as soon as you reach out to touch it... fingerprint on the window! Ah well... As the winter wears on though... I notice that the roadway sand is not insignificant. In fact, I can hear the pings and flicks as these little tiny pieces of sand and rock hit my windshield... And I cringe... waiting for the big one!

What struck me though was that all of those tiny pings and flicks contribute to those tiny little specks on my windshield. Yes, there are the big ones, that actually make a star big enough to see... or start a crack... but every little piece of sand or stone that hits, probably makes a tiny little speck of a star... And contributes to the overall look of the windshield. I could go several years without a major crack or star... and eventually, it would be the accumulation of little specks that would send me running for a new windshield!

That's sort of like life too... We have lots of little hurts and big hurts... lots of little resentments and big resentments... But in the grand scheme of life, the accumulation of all those little things has a bigger impact on us than the "big" ones... The big ones we can see and handle... It's the little ones that we can't see and don't handle that get to us eventually... Unlike a car however, we can't just run out and buy a new view on life... We have to handle those little specks and dings... let go of all those little hurts and little resentments... Otherwise, we go through life not really seeing life or experiencing life... We see life through the lens of all of our little hurts and resentments... Not a very fulfilling way to live!