When my daughters were young I taught them to clean and tidy and sort out their own bedrooms. It was the 80’s and we were’t well off so they didn’t have a pile of stuff, but still, it got out of order fairly quickly. Saturday morning was room cleaning time (usually, if other things didn’t get in the way). They did it begrudingly but were always happy with the results.
But every so once in a while, maybe when Saturdays were busy with other things, or just maybe when their rooms got totally out of order, I would clean their rooms myself, while they were at school. Of course, I did a much better job than they would have and things looked pretty good in the end.
When they got home from school I told them a surprise was waiting for them in their rooms. (Who doesn’t like a surprise?) They would run up to their rooms with precious childlike enthusiasm and look at their transformed bedrooms. You would think I had given them $100! At first, they would stand in awe and look around at their little rooms, taking in the order and seeing all of their toys and books like they were brand new. And then they each wanted to stay in their rooms and play for a while. It was like a whole new room and they had a whole new outlook.
Do you need a new outlook today?
The expression “starting with a clean slate” could be interpreted in so many ways. But for starters, I think of the old days when children each had their own slate in school. After finishing math and switching to English, they would have to wipe out everything so they could ‘start with a clean slate’.
But it could be interpreted in so many other ways such as forgiving a debt or forgiving someone who has wronged you, or simply starting over with some new way of doing something be it a job or a relationship. You pick.
Either way, “starting with a new slate” can be energizing. Giving yourself permission to let go of the past and embrace a new way of doing things.
It could be as simple as cleaning your room.
What ways can you think of to start with a clean slate for yourself? What is the first thing that comes to mind? Me, I am a sorter. In my family we call it the ‘organizing gene’. Some of us got it and some of us didn’t. But those of us who got it often share on texting that we reorganized a cupboard (complete with pictures) or cleaned out the garage. The rest of us share the joy that we know that person got out of that project.
Maybe start with something simple, like clean out your car.
One more story. When I first met my second husband, Cliff, we were both in our late forties. His habits were fixed. He won’t mind me telling you that he was one messy fellow. It took a while before I got my hands on his house but I just couldn’t leave his car the way it was. I had never seen such a messy dashboard. And when you turned right everything slid to the right, when you turned left, everything slid to the left. You get the idea.
It looked something like this. No exaggeration. Maybe yours looks like that too! Anyways, I felt much better when I cleared it off, not sure if he did!
Whether you battle with depression or not, starting with a clean slate can be invigorating, encouraging, hopeful. Forgive yourself and forget your past and move forward, you can do it!
Our God is all for starting over. “…if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Don’t give up. There is hope for depression, there is hope for everything you are going through. Trust in the Lord.