A blank piece of paper

I try to do one school pick up a week on one of my work days because it means I get a bit more focused time with Harry and Lucy. Lucy and Sophie sometimes have quite a strained relationship. I mean sometimes Lucy will draw a picture of the family and just leave Sophie out! Last week we were talking in the car and I was asking Lucy why she didn’t like Sophie. Her reply was that ‘Sophie hits her and pulls her hair’. I said fair enough that’s a pretty good reason not to like someone but then tried to explain that two year olds sometimes can’t handle how they feel and to try and think of the times when they do get on and when Sophie is really fun to play with. I tried to say that every day we should start afresh and try to not hold grudges (hard to explain to a 4 year old!).

Harry then pipes in with a brilliant illustration which is really what I want to share here because I’ve been using it ever since. He learnt it at New Wine and they said that our lives are a bit like a piece of paper that over time gets scrunched up and it doesn’t matter how hard you try to unfold the paper and make it smooth the creases don’t come out. But when we come to Jesus He gives us a new piece of paper completely smooth and white. I said that’s what we need every morning to start with a new piece of paper so whatever has happened the day before we can start again and love each other.

That night Harry had a bit of a meltdown about something he felt was unfair. It’s a bit unusual for him to get really worked up. Anyway I said that maybe we need to ask Jesus to give us that blank piece of paper in the morning. During the prayers that night he said God’s already given him the blank piece of paper. I asked o really did He tell you? Harry said no he just felt happy again!