Liquid Paper

When I was in high school, I took some kind of business class where they taught us, among other things, how to type. I remember having this big, fat, pencil-looking thing with an eraser on one end and a brush of some sort on the other; we were to use this to erase our mistakes.  As hard as I tried, I never could use that eraser properly.  My paper always came out looking like it had been run over by a garbage truck. 

In 1956, Bette Nesmith Graham invented Liquid PaperÒ; it was originally called Mistake Out. I'm sure secretaries everywhere were rejoicing and singing her praises. However, my personal experience with Bette's exciting new product wasn’t as fool-proof as I had hoped.  I still ended up with a paper full of uneven white stripes as well as a few blobs of white goo here and there.  No matter what I did, I couldn’t cover up my mistakes without making an even bigger mess. 

Sadly, our personal mistakes are not so easily covered up.  Even if no one else can see them, we know they're there and God knows they're there.  Liquid PaperÒ corrects instantly the mistakes we make on paper, however all the erasers and correction tape in the world can’t cover up a life of sin.  You can be sure that anything you try to substitute for God will be torn down. There’s only one thing that can correct a lifetime of mistakes – the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7).  My life has, at times, looked much like my papers did when I was in high school; smudges of ink combined with bits of rubber eraser, and small worn places (even holes) from rubbing so hard to get the mistakes out.  When I finally fell on my knees before the Lord, “He lifted me out of the pit of despair...set my feet on solid ground...and gave me a new song to sing." (Psalm 40)  Hallelujah!

Do I still make mistakes?  Of course I do. But in my personal life, instead of reaching for the Liquid PaperÒ, I reach for Jesus.

*Fun Fact For Floyd: Bette Nesmith Graham was the mother of Michael Nesmith of the Monkees.