The Moral of the Story

Cindy Trane Christeson

“New beginnings are God’s specialty. He is the author of life, who

delights in giving his children clean, white pages.” -- Unknown

It’s a new month. It’s a new year. It’s a new millennium. I like taking

down the old marked-up calendar and hanging up a clean new one. I like

taking down all the Christmas decorations and thinking that somehow less

clutter in my house will lead to less clutter in my head. I like getting

fewer catalogs in the mail and getting more time to try to get caught up

with life. I loved hearing and singing Christmas carols, but I had

reached my limit just as we reached the end of the year.

I like the feeling that I can get a fresh start, and a clean slate, and

that I can say, “Out with the old, and in with the new!”

A friend of mine had a different approach to all the newness, however.

This friend hadn’t had a very good holiday season. In fact, she hadn’t

had a very good year.

“I’m so glad it’s the new millennium,” she said. “I was getting pretty

tired of the old one. I’d had enough of

it.” This friend had a year filled with negative consequences from poor

choices and decisions in previous years.

“I wish I could live it all over,” she said. “But I know that will never

happen.”

I was reminded of a story that a friend of mine named Debbie told me

about her son, Christopher, an 8-year-old who often surprises his mother

with profound statements. Several months ago he looked at Debbie and

said: “You know what, Mom? There are really only two things in life you

can’t really change.”

“Oh really?” Debbie replied. “And what are those?”

“You can’t change God’s love and what you’ve already

done.”

“Wow, that’s awesome, Chris. Where did you learn that?”

“I don’t know,” he answered. “Probably in Sunday school. But it’s true.”

“You know, Chris, you’re right.”

“It’s kind of like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube. It just

can’t be done,” Chris continued.

“You’re right again, Chris. That’s why it’s important that you use wisdom

in the decisions you make,” Debbie said.

Then Chris went off to play. “It was one of those short,

spur-of-the-moment, I-can’t-believe-he-said-that times,” Debbie told me

later. We both agreed that there was great wisdom in Christopher’s words.

I thought of those words after talking to my friend. While she can’t

change what has happened, she can learn from her mistakes. She can make

apologies when needed and changes if possible. And if she involves God in

her life and includes him in her decisions, she can have a fresh start

and a clean slate.

I explained to my friend that when my life feels like an Etch A Sketch

that is all mixed up and messy, I can hand it over to God, and he shakes

it clean. And best of all, we can ask for and experience fresh starts

every day, no matter what the calendar says. We can always ask God for

fresh new starts. They are one of his specialties.

And you can quote me on that. CINDY TRANE CHRISTESON is a Newport Beach

resident who speaks frequently to parenting groups. She can be reached

via e-mail at o7 [email protected] or through the mail at P.O. Box

6140-No. 505, Newport Beach 92658.