Tip of My Iceberg

photo courtesy of Robin Battison on Unsplash

It was one of those grim grey days of winter that can feel unusual for Florida. It had been raining all day, and the roads were slick and the ground mushy. I was driving home from work, exiting off the toll road and thinking I’d be home in fifteen minutes. My mind’s eye could see that hot cup of tea I’d get as soon as I arrived.

It was a double right turn, and I was in the left lane, heading for the middle lane of the road. I’d driven this road countless times, and I never thought it would be a problem.

Until it was.

There was a man in a big black truck to my right who chose to drive into the same lane as I was, hitting me broadside on the passenger side of the car.

All I could think of was it wasn’t my fault.

We pulled over, and I hopped out to get his information. I’ve learned from my mistakes; I was rear-ended a couple of years ago and was so flustered I didn’t get pictures of the man’s license plate or driver’s license. That individual scammed me, and we had to pay for repairs.

Not again.

When I hopped out of the car, I was prepared to get all the information I needed. When the other driver rolled down his window, I saw a young man, maybe no more than twenty, looking as scared as I was. He didn’t speak English; he spoke into his phone and showed me what he’d said: “This is all my fault. I take full responsibility.”

My heart went out to him. How conflicted to sense his remorse and still feel angry that I’d been in an accident!

A policewoman soon came and took all our information. It was pouring; we all looked like drowned rats as we waited for her to finish her report. I turned to the young man, put my hand on his shoulder, and told him it was only an accident. He didn’t mean it; it would all work out.

He looked grateful.

We all want to be redeemed from the mistakes we make. Excused without consequences. Payback hurts.

God’s laws are more precise; there’s no way around being responsible for how we live. Our choices, our mistakes, are ours, and we will be held accountable for how we live.

However, God loves us with a rich and lavish love, a love so great we can’t begin to understand its depth. “And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is,” Ephesians 3:18. This four-dimensional love is so immense that we can’t grasp it fully. It fills us with God’s all-encompassing compassion.

We all will blow it. We’ll have accidents, and we’ll make intentional poor choices. All that’s needed when that happens is to own what we’ve done wrong.

“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” 1 John 1:8-9

I was humbled when that young man admitted his mistake. It will make working through the insurance processes easier.

I’ve made messy mistakes myself, and often, I want to blame someone else or use the excuse that “everyone else did it.” But wrongs are wrongs; they can’t be whitewashed, ignored, or pushed aside. They need to be dealt with. By admitting wrongdoing, which is a confession, I own my mistakes, seeking forgiveness from the only One who can forgive me. Once and for all.

Too often, it really is my fault.