New Windows

New windows! No not the operating system....the kind you look out of. But both are appropriate now that I think about it.
As I met with the representative this morning I decided that I needed new windows. One of the questions he asked me was whether I wanted panes or pane-less windows. That sent my mind into a blur! Panes or no panes I thought. Pains or no pains on my new windows?
Comparing my new windows for my house to my new windows on my soul, my life, I began to ask myself an important question. Why am I getting new windows? Well to answer that about my home it is because the locks are broken, the weights are off and the wood is rotten. Now to compare that with my life,hmmm...the locks are broken, the weights are off and the wood (me) is rotten! Coincidence? Maybe....NOT.
Looking further into this window situation this is what I have observed:
My locks are broken. The physical locks on the windows that I am replacing are indeed broken or non-existent. The locks on my life, my soul are also either broken or non existent. The widows have often been flung open in hopes that all my pain and grief would somehow fly right out of them. In reality what I have found is that the screens were down and very little has really escaped. My efforts to "fling out" my grief were fruitless and so I have embraced it again and am now determined to fix the locks so that when the terrible parts of grieving are over I'll be able and equipped to lock them out once and for all.
The weights that long ago fell off my home's windows are lost deep down in the interior of the casings. I had once thought that replacement weights would fix the problem of keeping the windows open but learned that you can no longer purchase the weights very easily. This little inconvenience sent me running to the phone to call my friendly window replacement specialist. After all on beautiful fall days like this nothing feels better than to open the window and let the brisk air in to freshen the staleness of my home. Likewise, I found that the weights of Bob's illness are now gone and I can't find them no matter how far and wide I look. Equally, I can't replace those weights with ones that match. Thats impossible. So I've gone running to MY "window replacement specialist" and asked Him to fix the weights that I have. My window replacement specialist has a kind heart and broad shoulders and has offered unconditional replacements free for the asking. I asked that He fix the weights and He did even better...He removed them and gave me lighter weights to carry.
Now the rotten wood is a different story. When the specialist looked at that problem he promptly told me that the only fix for rotten wood was to completely tear it off and replace it with treated wood that would resist the rot but not completely eliminate the chance for return. He began to purge and prod the wood. He chipped and pulled at it and eventually he had a hole that gaped from the outside inward and nature had free access to my family room! Looking at the hole, I clearly saw the comparison to my life, to my soul. Here's the situation....I have so much rotten wood that I don't even know where to begin. I have bitterness, selfishness, jealousy, anger, and hostility. All pieces of wood that need to be purged and prodded. Pieces that desperatlely need to be chipped away and pulled apart. Without cleaning away the rotten wood, I can't make the repairs and fill the hole. My hole is deep and wide, but MY replacement specialist has promised complete repair and a promise of Eternity. Like the hole into my family room, MY hole also goes into His family room and I can tell you thats the ONLY family room I want to be in!
My windows are ordered and will be installed in 6 to 8 weeks. MY windows are ordered and the time frame is unclear for installation, but it's a project thats under construction!
How do your windows look?