Daily Devotional for January 15, 2021
Brooklyn’s Blank Page
Brooklyn put the pencil down. Other than a couple scribbles, the page was blank. She sighed. Tuesday seemed like weeks ago. It was the day she did something she never thought she would do. Brooklyn picked up the paper and looked at it again. It’s like my life, she thought. Scribbles ruining a once-pure page. She couldn’t stand looking at it. She thrust it into her backpack, leaving her lunch tray behind.
Although she had insisted on sitting alone at lunch, Brooklyn wasn’t going unnoticed. Dallas had been her best friend since first grade. When he saw Brooklyn run off, he asked Rose to follow her while he cleared the lunch trays. Rose followed her to their next classroom. “What’s wrong?”
Brooklyn rolled her eyes.
Rose waited. “I wanted to give you some space again today, but I’m worried about you.”
Dallas walked in. “Can I see what you were drawing?” he asked.
Reluctantly Brooklyn pulled the paper out of her bag. Dallas was surprised to see that all his artistic friend had drawn on the page were scribbles. He didn’t say anything but sat down in the chair next to her.
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me,” said Brooklyn. “I’ve always been able to draw before. Now everything I do looks like trash.”
“You’re the best artist I know,” Rose said. “You’re just having a rough week.”
“You guys don’t know what I’ve done,” Brooklyn murmured as she threw the paper away. “It’s so bad I can never tell anyone.”
After class, Dallas taped a piece of paper on Brooklyn’s locker. He had drawn a small spot on it. “What do you see?” he asked.
“It’s a sad attempt at a circle,” Brooklyn replied.
“I see a piece of paper,” Dallas insisted. “No matter what’s on it, it’s still paper. And you’re still a Christian. I don’t know what you’ve done, but Jesus can handle it. He’s ready to forgive. Just ask Him. He can make something beautiful from your scribbles.”
On Monday, Brooklyn handed a drawing to Dallas. “The light and shadows are terrific,” he commented and then looked up at her. “There’s tape on here.”
Brooklyn smiled. “I wanted to remember that Jesus will always forgive me. Thank you for the reminder.” • Becky Elie
How about you?
Do you feel like you’ve done something so wrong you can’t talk about it? If you’ve sinned, confess it to Jesus. No matter what you’ve done, He’s ready to forgive! He lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose again to save sinners. His grace is enough for you. If you still feel upset about what you did, ask Him to give you the courage to talk to a parent, pastor, or counselor about it too.
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