During the fall, I noticed that my rear defroster stopped working. Since winter was months away, I figured I had plenty of time to get it repaired. Well, the cold weather came a minute later and when the first snow hit, I wore my ice scraper down to a nub clearing the window so I could drive safely.

A visit to the mechanic resulted in him replacing the rear defroster thingy and voila! Ice and snow be gone! I don’t have to worry about what’s behind me anymore!

The Past Is Passed
I recently shared that I set my Pandora station to 80s music. Whenever a familiar tune came on, I noticed that I had a sense of longing for a time when life seemed simpler. The more I listened to this music, the more the past became my focus.

With my eyes on the rear-view window of my life, I was overcome with sadness and regret. “If only I would’ve done this. If only I would’ve done that.” Oh sure, there were happy times, great times actually but I longed to go back in time.

I’m reminded of the scene in “The Lion King” when Rafiki hit Simba on the top of the head with a stick.

Simba asks, “What was that for?” To which Rafiki responds: “It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past.” Simba declares: “Yeah but it still hurts.”

And this sage piece of wisdom comes out of Rafiki’s mouth:

“Oh yes, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it or learn from it.”

“…but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 NKJV)

Who You Gonna Call?
You see, it is our decision on how we want to deal with our respective “rear windows.” We can park in regret, or we can make better choices so our presents and our tomorrows will be better. How can we do that?

We make a call to the Master Mechanic – Jesus.

Just as I called my mechanic to fix my car, we can call on Jesus to fix us. We can share our hearts with Him. We can tell Him what’s not working, we can ask for His assistance (and expertise!). Then, just as I sat back knowing that my car would be fixed perfectly, we can do the same with Jesus. (He’s particularly gifted in the “problem solving” areas of our lives.)

“…casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7 NKJV)

This is how Jesus works. We give Him our cares trusting that He will take care of them. What was (or is) broken will be transformed into something better (Romans 8:28). Then, we can tell everyone what He did! 

The past should not haunt or torment us. It should inform us. Let’s make peace with our respective pasts. Let’s take our eyes off of our rear windows and instead look forward to all that God has in store for us (Jeremiah 29:11).

Is it time to make a call to the Master Mechanic this week? You’ll never get a busy signal. He’s always open for business. And He’s got great references. Go on – call Him!