By Guest Blogger, Akeele’ Hughes.

For I know the plans I have for you. Jeremiah 29:11 

At the beginning of every month we set new goals for ourselves with different things that we want to accomplish: Read the word more, serve more, go back to the gym, etc. I am the type of person that in addition to writing my goals down in a planner, I also have a white board that I write my goals on and I hang it in my room. While I was cleaning my board a couple of days ago to prepare for March, I noticed that there was a section that did not come off as easily because I left the writing on the board for too long. I ended up spraying that section of my white board with a dissolution and letting it sit until it was ready to come off. While this process was happening I started to think about God and how when we are reborn again, if we let Him, He gives us a blank canvas to start fresh with. All of the past traumas, mistakes, and struggles are still attached to us but when Jesus died on the cross through His blood he gave us another option; a new canvas. We now have the choice to fill our new canvas with love, joy, peace, and new life experiences that we gain when we walk with Christ. Just like the tough part on my white board that did not come off until it was ready, that is kinda how it is with ourselves. Cleaning your canvas is not always as easy as it seems, some parts of your life requires a little bit more work than others and God has to sit us there until we are ready to fully wash ourselves and clean that area to fill it with something new.  

Everyday we have the chance to fill our canvases with something good, big or small and we should not take that lightly. It is a gift, one of the many that was given to us from God. Take pride in the imperfections of your white board and in those spots that may take longer to clean because they will make your future canvases bright and ways that you don’t even know yet. Always stay humble and delight in every new beginning.  

~ A