Like Broken Glass

By Chris M. Meadows

Were you ever lost in a large department store when you were a child? Can you remember how you felt with your chest welling up inside like it was going to explode from the anxiety that overwhelmed you as you frantically searched for your mom or dad? Your mind racing as you were thinking, I only took my eyes off of them for a minute to look at the toy, oh where could they be? That sheer panic is what plagued me when I was distracted by things in this world and lost my way. Like Broken Glass is an inspirational book about losing our way, making all the wrong decisions and God still bringing us home safely again. This journey began with losing everything our family had in a business which was wiped out by a natural disaster; then refusing to see Gods hand of providence, I tried rebuilding it all again. Compounded by the untimely death of my father, God finally broke my heart and I listened. This story ends with one of the greatest blessings I have ever known, culminating in the birth of the only heir to my family name. Like Broken Glass hopes to leave you with one principle from the Word of God. If you learn nothing else at least remember this: God makes a promise. We fail. God keeps His promise! Why? Because He is God; and He has come to seek those who are lost and mend their broken hearts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Oct 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490853130

Chris M. Meadows

Chris M. Meadows is pastor of the Heltonville Baptist Church in Southern Indiana, and has more than thirty-years of ministry experience working with families in a myriad of domestic and youth related issues. He attended Moody Bible Institute from 1980-1982 and holds a BA in Psychology from Indiana University.

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Copyright © 2014 Chris M. Meadows.

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Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, King James Version®

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-5314-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-5313-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014916936

WestBow Press rev. date: 10/15/2014

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1   ‘Scars’

Chapter 2   ‘Road to Damascus’

Chapter 3   ‘Faith Walk’

Chapter 4   ‘Lamp Unto My Feet’

Chapter 5   ‘Help along the Way’

Chapter 6   ‘Heavy Hearts’

Chapter 7   ‘A Strong House’

Chapter 8   ‘Not Who I thought I was’

Chapter 9   ‘Long and Winding Road’

Chapter 10   ‘Hindsight is not 20/20’

Introduction

‘Like Broken Glass’ originally came about from a series of events in my life God used to show me the true meaning of walking with Him on a daily basis. We often question if we are walking the right direction in our lives, or even if God really exists at all. I know like many who have been raised in a Christian home, I never really gave much thought to whether I was moving closer to Christ, because I was too busy with my own life and I treated Jesus like a genie in a bottle. I would keep Him there all safe and sound until something didn’t go my way, then I could bring Him out and expect Him to grant my wishes. I never really thought much about it growing up, but now I realize what I didn’t want Jesus to do, was expect something from me. It was easier to have a Jesus who would let me live my own life doing what I wanted and then only show up to pull me out of a jam or if things didn’t work out my way. ‘Like Broken Glass’ is a collection of the events God used to change that perspective for me and lead me back to Him.

Many individuals, who have watched us live out these stories in our lives, believed there are others who could benefit from our walk as they have. My wish is that struggling families, parents and children who have given up hope might be encouraged to continue looking to the cross when all else seems lost. My goal, is to share a different perspective than we have sometimes come to expect from God, to point out that the only circumstances we are victims of are the ones we have created for ourselves. That even when we fail, God is always there to pick up the broken pieces of our lives and not just put them back together again, but He longs to remake them into something more beautiful than they could have ever been, without having been completely broken. My desire is to use what God has done in my life, to show others that everything He has done, is for the expressed purpose of reconciling us to Himself.

Trying to decide what would be the best moments to share has been a task in itself. Friends, who knew I had finally succumbed to the conviction of writing this book, each shared some of their favorite moments which had left the greatest impressions on them. Suffice it to say, this project has merely scratched the surface of the examples which could be shared of what God has done in our lives. The title itself has been the beacon used to help determine the events selected for this book. These events occur over an eight year time frame and wouldn’t even be considered a good synopsis of the lessons we have learned or the stories we could have told. At many times I have attempted to jot down notes or stories in order to eventually put something in print but always avoided writing about these events in my life. There were many other things going on in our lives during this time, but I have tried to narrow the focus to those incidents which God used to break my heart and show me just how completely His heart was broken for me.

Even the experiences of writing this book have been quite an education in itself. Though God had convicted me many years before to embark upon this endeavor, it took me losing my job to complete it. What’s more (me being the consummate procrastinator) I was doing everything else but working on this book. I still remember the day I was brought into the office to discuss how State budget cuts would affect the organization I worked for and I was unable to accept the reduction in hours so they elected to terminate my position. As I drove home I called my wife and flippantly made the statement, I guess I have time to work on the book now, but I never took the time to do it. Months went by and I was continuing to look for the job I felt God was providing but nothing came. It was to the point of becoming comical, because I have never had problems with employment in my life, due to my background and experience, but now it was like the river had dried up. A good friend asked while at a pastor’s conference how the book was coming and I had to tell him I had put it on the back burner. He warned me that if this was a conviction from God, I had better not drag my feet. So I began working on it again very lackadaisically, but I was still trying to find some type of employment to fall back on if necessary.

One day while setting at the kitchen table talking with my wife and daughters, I happened to open a ‘Garfield’ book setting on the table and on the first page Garfield is standing there and he says, I am going to write a book and I am not going to be one of those people who say they are going to write a book and never do, I’m really going to write it. I thought, great now Garfield is preaching to me. My family thought this was funny because it was what they all wanted to say to me but were afraid to. So time has rolled on, and I have accepted this assignment with much more of a genuine spirit.

The lesson I hope to leave you with is, that we don’t often find what we seek because we don’t really know what we are looking for. It’s like trying to find butterflies but seeing nothing but caterpillars. It’s like trying to find something in a room without ever entering the room. We gaze from the outside and cannot see, so we assume it must not be there. If we don’t enter into the Living Word, we will never find the Christ we are looking for. Mostly I want people to realize, that just because we can’t see God, doesn’t mean He isn’t there, and that the God we serve loves us, and all we have to do to see Him is open our eyes and look, and then He, will find You!

Chapter 1

‘Scars’

I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent. Rev 2:2-5 (KJV)

A scar, or mark, is sometimes the visible evidence of our best efforts gone awry. Like the many I collected during my days as a small boy growing up in the country, scars are often unsightly reminders of a tragic, or traumatic, experience we would soon forget were it not for the mark which had been left behind. Many times as we grow into adulthood it would be easier to accept those small protrusions on our skin which stretch and fade from sight if it were not for the painful memories left behind by wounds which do not heal, reaching farther and hurting more than we could ever have imagined. Whether in our broken relationships, wounded hearts, or shattered dreams, scars can make us ashamed of what we have done, and often times render us ineffective as an individual. They become marks drawn in the sand as constant reminders of what we may have become, or the person we have struggled to change and never want to be again. August 8, 1992 was one such day for me; a scar forever etched in my mind as I live out my days in this life.

As I was growing up our family went to church regularly and like many children who are raised in a Christian home I made a profession of faith at the young age of eight. At the tender age of thirteen I felt the Spirit calling me into the ministry; I cannot say with any certainty that I was an aspiring young evangelist with an exceptional amount of talent, just a young boy with a strong desire in my heart to serve the Lord however He chose to use me. I was very active in the youth group, and as I grew older was even allowed to fill in for our teenage Sunday-school in the absence of our teacher. After graduating High-school it was off to Bible College; however, after two years, and an extreme lack of effort on my part while in school, I returned home having never completed my studies, or my degree. I transferred to a local university, met the young lady who would eventually become my wife, dropped out of school completely, got married, and started a family.

Once again I began working in a local church, which had supported me during my time in school, as the associate pastor in charge of their youth programs. I was having more than just an average amount of success, but my focus had changed. I still wanted to serve God, but I also had a desire to make my way in the world. I began to build a small automotive business and convinced myself the success I was enjoying was the result of God’s blessings on my life for all my hard work being an example for these younger children. Looking back sometimes it is hard to see just exactly where it was I got on the wrong road or what turns I took which lead me so far away from where I thought I was going. I simply tell people it was like falling asleep in a boat while safely fishing off of the shore, and while you are asleep the current gradually begins to sweep you away. Before you know it you wake up to find there is no land anywhere in sight, leaving you lost without any direction to find your way home, and never knowing how you even got there.

The business I was building began to grow, and as it