Out of Alignment

One time I hit a curb as I went around a corner. The car jolted, and I thought, "Oh no. There goes a tire." I listened carefully to the wheels going around, wondering if every hum or thump from the uneven road was the sound of the tire going flat. Once I could stop, I got out and looked at my wheel. Everything was fine. Relieved, I continued on my way as if nothing had ever happened.

Then the next time I took the car in for service, the mechanic said, "You know, this wheel is really out of alignment. Did you hit something?"

Sometimes we mess up. We cut a corner, we let something slide, we tell a half-truth, we take the easy way out. We don't mean any harm, but we know we didn't quite do the right thing. And we wait, watching and listening to the people around us. Did anyone notice? Will there be any consequences?

The discipline of confession reminds us that nothing is hidden from God. Even when we think we get away with our small misdeeds, they still affect us, pulling us out of alignment with our own moral code. We come back to God to have our hearts set true in the pathways of the Lord.

Snowy Footprints

This morning Jake shoveled the front walk. While the kids played in the snowdrifts, I followed after him with the broom, sweeping away the last flakes that the shovel missed. The snow was light, so most of the powder easily moved off of the walkway. But after each pass, I was left with a few stuck-on white patches in the shape of Jake's boots. As he walked down the path, each footstep pressed some of the snow down so that it stuck onto the paving stones. They wouldn't sweep away, so I had to scrape them loose instead.

Every week, I make a few mistakes and misjudgments that I bring to the Lord when we say our confession. My sins are usually nothing so big that I worry about them, but I know if I didn't repent them, I would carry them around with me. Over time, they would get ground in to my soul, forming unhealthy habits or lasting regrets. They are so much easier to lift up and let go now, when they are still fresh in my mind. I can let the mercy of God sweep them all away.