Objects in the Rear View Mirror Appear Closer Than They Are

A few days ago I was driving over to Maryland’s Eastern Shore to visit with some family members. I was tired and it was a long drive so I hooked up my iPod and started to play some Meatloaf; yeah, I know, Meatloaf. Great music to play if you are driving because it tends to be big, bold, has a driving beat and contains a lot of energy.

As I was cruising up I-95, Meatloaf began to sing a song written by Jim Steinman and entitled Objects in the Rear View Mirror Appear Closer Than They Are. Allmusic says the song draws “its inspiration from the singer’s often-tragic childhood. The lyrics portray a man who has overcome tragedies in his life yet still feels haunted by their memory.” One verse, speaking of his drunken, abusive father, says:

“And though the nightmares should be over
Some of the terrors are still intact
I’ll hear that ugly coarse and violent voice
And then he grabs me from behind and then he pulls me back”

When I heard the lyrics of this song the Lord allowed me to see the sharp claws of the past seeking to draw each of us back into the pain and wounding that we experienced as children and teens. How these things continue to haunt us never ceases to amaze me. The experiences of the past ARE closer that we think as these demonically driven and maintained wounds throb with daily pain; sometimes in subtle ways that are beyond anything that we can even conceive. Yet we who have experienced God’s deliverance have tasted the freedom for which our Savior has died.

When I heard that old Meatloaf song, I couldn’t help but think of the more than one hundred and fifty people that we in Spiritual Interventions have had the chance to meet and to minister to this past year. Yet, in spite of this success, I can’t help but be overwhelmed when I think of the number of God’s kids who continue to struggle throughout their lives to be free from the incapacitating memories of the past. Yet, as soon as they let down their guard these “terrors” grab them from behind and pull them back down. When I think of that I am overwhelmed by a God-driven desire to see more of God’s kids set free. We know that our friends and family can be free because God has set us free! We are walking testimonies of God’s faithfulness to his kids! As more than one of our clients said, “Why doesn’t everyone do this?” Most don’t do this because they don’t know about it; they don’t know that freedom is our inheritance from God.

One of our recent clients said,

“Well, at first I was hesitant to say anything was different… but, do not drop the word “transformational” from your descriptions! My negative thoughts (aggravation, anger, impatience, etc.) seem to flit by BUT not land. I can easily wave them off and that is it. The air around me is the biggest difference… lighter, clearer, freer, and more easily moved about in. The heaviness has only returned once and then I shook it off quickly. More open to people and they seem more open to me, weird.”

Yeah, weird. God’s grace is often extended to us in wonderfully strange ways. May you experience God’s wonderful, extraordinary grade this New Year!