A Blank Page

By: Lauren Thomas 

I love the idea of a fresh start, a blank slate, a new beginning. I do like making resolutions. Though, I prefer to make them on a monthly basis, not committing to a full year. That’s because, as much as I love fresh starts, they also feel intimidating. 

When I get a new journal, I procrastinate using it until I feel I have the perfect thing to write on the first few pages. (Yes, my name is Lauren, and I am a perfectionist.) I love selecting a beautiful journal. I love the look and feel of blank pages. I dread writing something dumb on the first page, or making an obvious and immediate error, right there in front, not buried safely within the pages. 

 

A new year can feel the same. There is excitement and hope about the possibilities of a new year. But there is also some intimidation: will I keep to my goals? Will I have the willpower to follow through? Will things go as planned? Do I have the right plan?

 

As you look forward to the possibilities of this New Year, I want to offer some perspective.

 

Set your goals, make your plans, aim to glorify God in all things. But as far as any intimidation over ruining a fresh start, remember this: God offers you a fresh, unblemished start - a blank page - that is yours for the asking, no matter what your calendar tells you.

 

²² The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
    his mercies never come to an end;
²³ they are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
    “therefore I will hope in him.”

Lamentations 3:22-24 (ESV)

 

Simply join in David’s prayer of repentance in Psalm 51 and ask to start anew. God is the only one who can wash you whiter than snow and blot out all your iniquities. He alone can renew the right spirit within you. He alone can give you a fresh start.

 

⁷ Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right spirit within me.
¹¹ Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Psalm 51:7-12 (ESV)

 

This year, let’s not get caught up on guilt and disappointment for failing ourselves and our goals. Instead, let’s grab hold of the grace God offers us in Jesus Christ, remembering His daily mercies, His fresh starts. 

 

Reflection:

What are your New Year’s Resolutions for 2024? Do you want to join me and Woman to Woman in reading through the Bible in 2024?