I was crocheting a hat the other day. (If you did not know, I enjoy crocheting.) Everything seemed be going well. I was moving along and a few rows away from being completely done. You know when you get close to the end of something you start to move a little faster?!? That was me….I was almost done and moving really fast. AND THEN…..I held up the hat and it just didn’t seem right. I couldn’t understand what was wrong. I even tried the hat on and realized that it wasn’t what it was suppose to be. <sigh>  I began to look over my work and trying to evaluate what was wrong when I found the major error. You probably can guess….It was at the very beginning. The whole thing had to be undone and started over. What a huge disappointment, especially since I had been working on it for several days. I had to unravel the whole thing and began again. Sometimes this is what life can feel like. You work so hard on something just to realize that it was all wrong.

I’m reminded of Paul when he wrote to Philipians in chapter 3 when he’s explaining to them about who he is and what is done. In his mind he could have been the best Jew that ever lived in his time. He followed the rules and did everything that he was suppose to do. And yet, he said that without Christ none of it even matter.

“Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.” Phil 3:8-9

I love the part when it says that it was all garbage. So just throw it in the trash! <hehe> I do take great encouragement that no matter what I do or don’t do if I do not have Christ it doesn’t matter. So starting over is not a bad thing. But start over with Christ and take the Holy Spirit as your helper. He is there to lead and guide us in all that we do, and He will help you to get it right. Keep going and don’t give up.

“I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Phil 3:14

Put your confidence in Christ, start again, and press on to what God is leading you to do.