A Tale of Two Broken Windows

My Heart Is On Fire by Doug Apple - a short Christian devotional to open the Scriptures and make your heart burn within you!

I’m Doug Apple...and my heart is on fire. (Luke 24:32)

It was like a shotgun of glass in my eyes. Would it ruin my vision?

It all started on a typical Wednesday when I packed our baby in the car seat and went to pick up a little old lady for church. It was a winter evening in Illinois and already dark.

As I was driving down the highway, suddenly there was a blast of glass as my driver’s side window exploded. I don’t recall much about what happened after that.

It turned out that a deer had been streaking across the highway and slammed his head right into my window. It was like a shotgun of glass to my face and eyes, and the baby was covered in glass but uninjured, thank God.

Someone rushed me to the hospital, and they spent a good amount of time getting the glass out of my eyes. Just blinking felt like my eyes were full of gravel.

Finally, they sent me home with an appointment to come back in the morning. My wife was driving me home, and I just sat there in the passenger seat with my head leaning on the window, drained.

And God met me there.

I just felt His grace and presence so sweetly. I was thinking, “God, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but it doesn’t matter. Even if I go blind, I’m going to follow You and do whatever You want me to do.”

God’s grace and peace and presence were so powerful in that moment, it was truly like the Bible says in Philippians 4:6, a peace that passes understanding.

Thankfully my eyes healed, and everything turned out fine, but at the moment BEFORE I knew how it would turn out…God met me there, and it was beautiful.

I’m calling this message A Tale of Two Broken Windows, so what’s the other one?

It’s the story of a much cooler car than my little Toyota Tercel. It’s about a 1966 Chevy Chevelle which my friend Rodney Rowland completely restored.

I mean, that car is a thing of beauty! He fixed it ALL up. It was perfect. And he was taking it to the 2023 Barrett-Jackson auction in Palm Beach, Florida, which if you know anything about car auctions, the vehicles at this event are incredible, I mean millions of dollars of amazing vehicles, all in perfect condition…and very shiny.

They don’t get that way by accident of course. Rodney had spent countless hours bringing that car from basically a crusty shell to perfection.

April 2023 rolled around and he loaded it up on his trailer and hit the road for Palm Beach. He submitted this super cool Chevelle to the auction inspectors, and uh-oh. What did they just say? The windshield…is broken? What???

It was perfect when it left Tallahassee, but now it was cracked at exactly the worst moment, right before going on the auction block at this huge, worldwide sale.

Does that mean all that time, all that investment was going down the drain? Did it mean pulling out of the auction altogether? What should he do?

This is where the grace of God settled on Rodney in a powerful way. He felt the peace to just go ahead and put it into the auction, even with the cracked windshield. He said, “God, I’m going to praise You no matter what happens. If it sells for a lower dollar amount than I need, so be it. God, You are my provider and I will praise You either way.”

No, it’s not natural to say such things. It’s not natural to face maybe losing your vision and saying, “God, it doesn’t matter, I’m following You.” It’s not natural to face potential financial disappointment and say, “God, it doesn’t matter, I’m praising You.”

It’s not natural. It is supernatural! It’s what happens when the Spirit of God gives you His grace and peace and presence. All the usual values and concerns fade in the presence of God!

I was raised in the Lutheran church, and at the end of every service the pastor would quote the benediction in Numbers 6:24-26, “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you His peace.”

That is exactly what happened in this Tale of Two Broken Windows, for both Rodney and me. We lived it. We experienced it. In a time of stress and potential loss, we felt the Lord’s presence, His grace, and His peace.

And God can do this for you, whatever you are facing today. How?

I like what it says in Isaiah 26:3, and I like the majesty of the old King James, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.”

As we keep our heart and mind turned towards God and His Word, trusting in Him, then He blesses us with His peace and grace and presence, even in the middle of our trials.

ESPECIALLY in the middle of our trials.

And that is how we can have peace, even when the glass is breaking, and say, “God, I’m going to follow You and praise You, no matter what.”

May God bless you today.

I’m Doug Apple.