I read an article once about a well-known children’s book author and illustrator and what inspired him on the path to becoming an illustrator. For him, it was an art teacher who always had another piece of paper when he wanted to start over. While I would imagine that he learned to take what he saw as a mistake and turn it into something to learn from, he also learned the gift of a new start with each piece of paper.

It’s October. The bloom of those first few weeks may be starting to fade. That perfectly set classroom is looking more lived in. That ideal teacher we imagined we’d be as the year began isn’t quite what we see in ourselves every day. As we reflect on each day, it’s not too hard to note a number of things that didn’t go as we’d hoped or planned. “I did this and wish I wouldn’t have.” or “I wanted to do this and failed to do so.” You may be thinking you need a do-over, a fresh start, a new piece of paper.

Sin can leave us feeling ashamed, disappointed, discouraged. We try so hard to commit to not repeating sins and still find ourselves failing. Today’s verses may put into words how you and I feel at those times. “Create in me a pure heart, O God.” What a beautiful plea asking God to work in our sinful hearts and, through Jesus, clean our hearts of those failures and give us a willing heart and spirit. Failure and sin are and always will be part of each day. However, God’s loving grace removes those sins from our picture. Forgiveness is complete and completely ours. God doesn’t cast us away but rather, draws us back through the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts.

And then what? Joy! Not the joy we get from so many earthly things that are temporary—not at all. This is such joy knowing that we are forgiven, saved through faith in Jesus, recipients of salvation—not at all because we got something right. It’s ours because Jesus got everything right-for us. Remember the story where Jesus heals the man who was unable to walk his whole life? (Luke 5:17-26) First, Jesus forgave his sins. He also told the man to get up and walk. Picture this man walking, hopping, skipping, running down the street with a face that expresses remarkable joy. Walking? What a blessing. Forgiven? Dancing with joy that’s hard to put in words.

So, start each day with that prayer. Ask God to forgive you and to create a new heart of faith every day. Each day is like that new piece of paper. At the end of the day, you can look at that paper and see God’s hand and blessings throughout the day. You can have peace knowing that the sins and failures of the day are gone from your picture in God’s eyes. They are forgiven. We take sin seriously and we take it to God our Father. We respond with a joy that reflects God’s immeasurable love for us and get to share that to all around us.