Our pastor has been preaching on Daniel for the past several weeks, and his theme has been windows…for example, A prayer window, A broken window…you get the idea.

The other night, when some of our family was in from out of town visiting, we got to talking about being locked out of the house. They seem to have had this happen to them several times, more than what I think is normal for an individual to be locked out.

It brought back to my mind something that happened to me many years ago, that involved being locked out and a broken window, so I thought it applied to the theme of sermons that Pastor Steve has been giving.

My husband Jim was away on business, pretty much on the other side of the world, so I was on my own. I went out to the garage to put some garbage out, and shut the door behind me, not realizing right away that the door knob was in the “locked” position, and when I went to get back in the house I could not get in. At that time, I had no spare key in the garage. I had no cell phone, or a phone within walking distance…no car keys to go anywhere, like to my mom and dad’s house so I could get the spare key they had. I was in slippers, sweatpants and a sweatshirt, it was the middle of winter and a very cold and snow covered night. The nearest neighbor is within walking distance, but not in slippers on a winter night.

I searched my mind with what to do. Either I had to find a way in, or walk somewhere to get help. I couldn’t sit in the garage until Jim came home. It took a while, but I finally figured out that I was going to have to break a window. We were planning on replacing the basement windows to more efficient ones, so I figured one of those could be broken since we intended on replacing them anyway. I broke in to my own house, (which also made me think how easily homes can be broken into). I scared my cats to death when the glass broke and I climbed in through the window. But I got in, and immediately felt relieved. I knew I had to somehow cover up the broken window, since it was winter, and since I didn’t want my cats to get out. And then I had to face the fact that I would have to tell my husband that I had to break the window to get in, a fact that he has not let me forget.

All of this makes me think of the consequences of our actions. Had I paid attention, I would not have closed the door without having the keys in my hand, or would have turned the lock so that it wasn’t locked. I wouldn’t have had to break a window, subsequently have to clean up the mess and secure the window, and I wouldn’t have had to tell my husband the stupid thing I did.

When we sin, we have to face the consequences of our sin. We need to confess and repent to our Lord and Father, and we also need to confess and repent to the people we have hurt. It is not easy admitting that we have made a mistake or sinned. Not that locking myself out of the house was a sin, but not thinking and paying attention could be. How many times in my life have I wished I could have a “do over”, but we don’t get to do that. God gives us second chances, and third and fourth, etc. But some people might not give us another chance. And most times, we cannot undo what has been done. That is why it is so important to think before you act…weigh your choices before making a decision, especially if it is a decision that might lead you into sin.