Clean Slate

Some students from Strayer University in New York City decided to try out an idea the class had. They wanted to ask people what their biggest regret was. So they built a large chalkboard in Times Square and gave people the option of writing out their regrets. One by one, people began to write out the regrets that they had in their lives. The answers came as no surprise to many. “Never speaking up,” “Not saying, ‘I love you’ enough,” “Not applying to med school,” “Not making the most of every day” and “Not being a better friend,” to name a few.

As each regret made its way onto the chalkboard, the students noticed that many of the regrets had one thing in common: the word, “not.”

So they gave these same people another task; they gave them an eraser and wrote “Clean Slate” at the top of the board. As one young woman took the eraser, she walked over to her regret with tears in her eyes and – wiping away her regret – she exclaimed that she felt hopeful for the first time in a long time. “Erasing this means, to me, that anything is possible. New possibilities lie ahead!”

Here’s the thing. God’s very much into the “clean slate” business. God’s also into the business of immeasurably more. I’ve always loved Ephesians 3:20 where Paul says, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.” Just beautiful, right?

So, to you my friend, may you be reminded that God is a God of new beginnings and clean slates. Leap into the New Year with the promises and assurances that He is able to do immeasurably more!