Etch A Sketch  

The Etch A Sketch lets you draw what you want to be, or reveal the darkness that lies beneath or it may even cover up what you don’t want others to see.

Did you ever play with an Etch A Sketch when you were a kid?  It was one of my favorite toys growing up.  You could draw all kinds of things on it and then if you messed up you could shake it and start over again.  I always thought that they were made with pieces of magnets that when you put the stylus on the board it attracted the magnets to the surface of the drawing board. 

The way they really work is the inside surface of the glass screen is coated with aluminum powder which is then scraped off by a movable stylus, leaving a dark line on the light gray screen.  To erase the picture, the artist turns the toy upside down and shakes it. Doing this causes polystyrene beads to smooth out and re-coat the inside surface of the screen with aluminum powder. The "black" line merely exposes the darkness inside the toy.

There are times in my life when I would like to be like the Etch A Sketch.  You know the ones.  They are the times in life that you wished you had a Do Over.  The sad part about life is that you don’t get Do Over’s and it isn’t an Etch A Sketch that you can pick up, shake and then start over.  We all say and do things we regret. Sometimes we try to hide the hurt inside us but then someone picks up the Etch A Sketch and starts creating black lines across the surface that expose the darkness within. Other times we become like the Etch A Sketch that when shaken the aluminum powder temporarily covers the surface and forms a protective coating until the next time someone decides to expose the darkness within.

There is darkness within me that, through trials, God is trying to get me to work on. I must admit it is difficult and painful.  I am an imperfect person living in an imperfect world and I am the only one who can change me.   So today I will work on me because His work through me will one day reflect a different person.  

       

Prayer for the Day: Heavenly Father, life throws me curves that I never expect or see coming.  When it happens I can only cling to you with everything in me because I know you will never leave me nor forsake me.  Thank you for loving me enough to help me in my times of trouble.         

Scripture: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.  Psalm 139:23-24