All The Broken Glass of Our Lives

“Something amazing happens when we surrender and just love. We melt into another world, a realm of the power already within us. The world changes when we change. The world softens when we soften. The world loves us when we choose to love the world.” -Marianne Williamson

Letting Go of The Weight We Were Never Meant to Carry

May 14, 2024 | Written by Belle Cruz

Last month, something happened that I’ll never forget: my car was broken into. It felt like both a physical and emotional blow, one that shattered my peace and left me cleaning up the remnants of someone else’s wrong.

As I carefully swept up the tiny shards of broken glass scattered across the back of my SUV, the sharp edges cut into my skin, leaving dozens of tiny micro-tears on my hands. Trying to ignore my wounds, I couldn't help but think–what a terrible feeling having to clean up someone’s act of offense towards you and somehow being the only one to walk away with the blood on their hands… The blood was a reminder of the offense that had been committed—an offense I didn’t think I deserved.

But as I stood there, feeling the sting and frustration of the moment, something in my spirit shifted…

“What a terrible feeling having to clean up someone’s act of offense towards you and somehow being the only one to walk away with the blood on their hands…”

In the middle of the mess, I looked up and felt as if Jesus was staring back at me. He was reminding me that I didn’t have to carry the weight of this brokenness—nor any other hurt in my life—on my own.

I began to understand something deeply important: we carry so much. Not just physical weight, but emotional, spiritual, and psychological burdens too. We carry the pain from past mistakes, the weight of disappointments, the bitterness of rejections, and the shame of memories we’d rather forget. Some of these things were inflicted on us by others, while others are the result of our own choices. Either way, the weight is real, and often very heavy.

But what if we didn’t have to carry it anymore?

What if, instead of letting the pain of our past define us, we could let go of the baggage that holds us back? What if the heaviness we carry—this weight of sin, shame, hurt, and regret—was never our responsibility to hold in the first place? What if someone already carried it for us?

Jesus came to take on the weight of our sin, our brokenness, and our failures. He shed His blood so that we wouldn’t have to carry it anymore. Just like I stood there cleaning up shattered glass with the cuts on my hands, a constant reminder of the offense, we can stand in the reality that our hands are stained with the consequences of sin. But Jesus came to wipe our hands clean. He came to heal our wounds, remove the burden of guilt, and free us from the weight of our past.

The truth is, Jesus did.

The act of cleaning up the mess left by someone else reminded me of this profound truth: we can spend our entire lives walking around with the blood on our hands, holding on to our inflicted suffering, wiping our smeared fingers on everything we touch, causing others and ourselves to remember our pain, or we can allow Jesus to take it all.

There is nothing in that baggage worth clinging to. Nothing in the weight of our past that will lead us to a fulfilling future. It’s dead weight meant to distract us from what God is doing right now. We don’t have to keep looking in the rearview mirror, fixated on everything that’s been broken, stolen, and lost. Perhaps, by choosing to look forward, then we will see God’s invitation to open up our hands and embrace forgiveness, love, joy, and the beauty all around us.

In the midst of my reflection that day, something unexpected happened. A vacuum hummed in the near distance, and when I glanced up, I saw a neighbor right across the street doing the same thing I was—cleaning up the remains of a similarly shattered window. Our eyes met, and I instantly realized I wasn’t the only one wronged that night.

For over a year, I had lived in this neighborhood without ever meeting this couple. Yet, in this time of shared hardship, we introduced ourselves. They told me that multiple cars had been broken into, and we exchanged words of comfort and encouragement. Despite this disappointing event, there was warmth in our conversation. And then, an unexpected kindness—the husband offered to help vacuum out the remaining shards of glass from my car. A small gesture, but one that meant so much!

Sometimes, we become so consumed by our suffering that we fail to see others going through the same struggles. Pain can be isolating, but it can also connect us if we allow it to. Maybe we need these moments to remind us of the beauty of community, the importance of knowing and loving our neighbors. When was the last time you truly saw your neighbor—not just in passing, but really saw them?

Loving our neighbors is one of the greatest ways we can love God. When we extend kindness, when we serve, when we uplift those around us, we reflect His heart. Jesus himself said that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. The two are deeply intertwined. And as we release our burdens onto Him, our hands are freed—not only to receive His love but to extend it to others.

And when we let go, something incredible often happens—happiness takes root in our hearts. It’s a quiet warmth, a gentle light that fills every corner of our being. It’s a deep, unshakable peace that lingers even when circumstances aren’t perfect. It’s the feeling of standing in the sun after a long storm, of breathing in fresh air after being weighed down for so long. It’s the freedom of knowing that we are loved, that we don’t have to carry our burdens alone, and that beauty still exists all around us. When we release what we were never meant to hold, our hands become open—to love, to receive, and to fully embrace the life God has for us.

Though my car was out of commission for a while (It took 4 weeks), I refused to let this situation steal my joy. A week later, I walked to the grocery store and picked up a bouquet of flowers. Then, I took an Uber to a cupcake shop and bought a box of luscious cupcakes. With a handwritten card in hand, I knocked on my neighbors’ door, wanting to return the kindness they had shown me. The wife answered, her adorable toddler by her side, and I watched as their faces lit up with surprise and gratitude. It was a small moment, but a truly meaningful one I won’t forget!

Normally, when I give to people like this, I keep it private and close to my heart—because my giving is never about me. But by sharing this story on this blog post, today I hope to inspire someone else. We can become so blind to our painful events that we don’t even realize that we have a choice to leave all the destruction behind and instead create something beautiful out of the pain. We can stay bitter, drowning in resentment, or we can shift our perspective and use the very thing that was meant to destroy us to bless somebody else.   

Instead of fixating on what was lost, we can choose to see the goodness that still surrounds us. Instead of carrying the weight alone, we can look outside of ourselves and truly see those around us. Instead of walking with blood-stained hands, we can allow Jesus to wipe them clean—and then, with open hands, love our neighbors.