Last Tuesday evening I was heading home after work when freezing rain started. To make matters worse my defroster wasn’t working.

With nowhere to pull over and park I just kept driving and praying. Almost immediately, ice would blanket the windshield forcing me to stop and scrape.

I prayed, put my flashers on and would drive a little, stop and scrape. Drive a little, stop and scrape. Drive a little, stop and scrape. Over and over the same thing.

While scraping I broke off both windshield wipers. That’s when I began backsliding. I traded prayers for cussing. I wasn’t mad at God for not getting me out of this mess, I was mad for being in this position in the first place.

With no other way to see, I rolled down the windows and cussed myself the rest of the way home. I finally arrived home safe and sound, but what bothered me the most was the way I backslid into the gutter (or gutter mouth) when I faced adversity.

Once I dried off and warmed up I began justifying my actions to God. I explained how I was scared and angry, but the Holy Spirit would not let me continue with the excuses, so I turned away from my sin and turned to God. I thanked Him for getting me home safely and asked for forgiveness for sinfully backsliding into the man I used to be.

• backsliding