I Did It

I’m sure you’ve had paper cuts on your fingers that you were totally oblivious to until you washed your hands and you felt the sting from the soap. And then you wonder, “when did this happen?” All you know was that you were going through some of the files earlier that day, but you never felt the paper cut through your flesh at all. Well, that’s kinda what happened to me this week.

On Thursday afternoon when I left the office, I discovered there was this huge scratch on the front bumper of my car! I can’t recall hitting anything, so it must have been done by somebody from my office. From the damage, it looks like the car was either pulling in or backing out of the parking space right next to me. I was indignant, totally outraged at the thought that someone could just take off after having done this. This damage isn't negligible at all!

Of course, I had to face the “wrath” of my husband that night…LOL.. Seriously, he handled it pretty well. Of course, he was frustrated at the thought of the “inconsiderate person” that messed up our car.

So the next day, I set out early for work because I planned to do some sleuthing..(I love forensic shows, so I felt like a member of the CSI trying to solve a crime). I had to find out who did this. Work on the car could run up to a minimum of $500, and this has to be settled. I had my camera, ready to take a snapshot of the evidence. I planned on looking for some tell-tale fresh damages/scratches on other cars that would lead me to the culprit. But as I was driving to work I remembered that at lunch time the previous day, I tried to back into the parking space I was in. There was not much room and I did come close to the ramp (going to the warehouse). But I didn’t feel an impact whatsoever, so I thought that it just could not be possible. I prayed and asked for the Holy Spirit to lead me to the truth that will set me free; that for Him to convict the person who is guilty, or reveal to me, if I did it myself. Well, I didn't have to wait long to receive an answer to my prayer.

At the office, one of my bosses helped me out. He looked at the damage to the car, and at once he told me that the scratch looked like it is from a concrete and not from another car. We looked at the ramp closely, and sure enough, the evidence was there – scratches on the stucco with my blue car paint. When I was negotiating that radius turn to back into that parking space, I must have hit the stucco. I was going real slow and since the bumper is made of some plastic material, it must have just deflected - reason why I didn’t feel or hear an impact. No kidding, I felt like a big fool.

On hindsight, this incident reminded me of how we all are as human beings. God told us what not to do through His Word and He gave us the freedom of choice. But everytime we sin, we are so ready to blame everyone and everything else but ourselves. We come up with so many excuses why, when in actuality, no one pushed us to fall but – us! Adam ate the apple that Eve gave, but when God asked him about it, Adam blamed Eve and the snake. He did not take responsibility for his own actions. This is our “Adam-ic” (sinful) nature!

Honestly, deep inside I wished someone else scratched the car. It’s hard to admit when you've done wrong. Why? Because it is humiliating. But I told my husband the truth. Honesty is the best policy. Above all, Jesus wants truth in our inward parts. So I took the responsibility for what I did. It is a lesson learned – an expensive one at that! But you know, stuff like this happens in our lives all the time. We just have to be prepared to take the responsibility for our actions and learn from it. Thank God He is gracious, and His love is fresh every morning. His love covers a multitude of sins. (1 Pet 4:8)

I've heard this line from a preaching a long time ago and it has become one of my favorites -- “Some people make things happen. Some people watch things happen. Some people wonder what happened.” Wanna take a guess which group I belong to ? Just for this week, ok? ;o)