When I was a kid, I both loved and hated playing with an Etch A Sketch. You had two knobs, one for up and down and the other for side to side. It felt nearly impossible for me to keep track of which was which, and as a result, I often had to give it a good shake to clear the screen so I could start over. I would see people who could produce actual images, like the one seen here, and it never failed to astound me! How is it that there were some people able to use those two stupid little knobs to create something beautiful, and I could barely reproduce a square without messing it up?? In many ways, this is how life can feel sometimes. I look around at other people and am amazed at how they are able to continually use their lives and their gifts to add beauty and quality to the world around them. Then I look at my own life and struggle to see anything other than the messes I create.

First and foremost, my biggest mistake in this train of thought is a comparison to anyone else. God is guiding my life in a way that is very specific to just me, and He has things He needs me to do that can only be done by me. It is the same for every one of His children. Even when we are walking the wrong way, if we are doing our best to try and go where God wants us to go, He will make sure we get there, even when we aren’t getting there the way He designed.

There is such a wonderful analogy to be found between the Etch A Sketch and God’s forgiveness when we get off track. When we realize we aren’t going the way we need to be going in life, when we start to see that we’ve made a wrong turn and the picture we’re intended to create gets messed up, we can go to God in humility and ask His forgiveness for our error in judgment. When we approach Him in this way, with a truly sincere heart and contrite spirit, just as it is with a shake of the Etch A Sketch, our errors are wiped clean, and we are able to start again. With each turn of the knobs, we need to first ask God which knob to turn and which direction to turn it. We don’t need to know what the picture is supposed to look like. We just need to follow His guidance.

On some level, I can understand why we aren’t given the whole picture at the start…if we were, it’s quite probable that we would try to etch out the design for ourselves, and in doing so, we wouldn’t end up with the beautiful picture we were meant to create. Only God knows which turns to make and in which order we should make them. He knows everything all at the same time. He doesn’t have to stop and think and try to come up with answers. He already has them. All of them. Much like the teenagers of the world, we believe we know much more than we really do. It is our great fortune that we have an unconditionally loving Father who is always waiting for us to ask Him for help, then choose to move in the direction we are given, NOT the direction we want to choose for ourselves.

When I think back on the frustration I felt trying to sketch out anything at all on that flat, red thing, I am able to understand why I feel such frustration in my daily life when I’m trying to make decisions on my own instead of seeking the counsel of the Lord. It’s because I don’t know what I’m doing!! When I choose to relax and allow myself to follow the path right in front of me without overthinking things, and trusting in the faithfulness of the God I love, I find the peace and calm I’m endlessly seeking.

Are you trying to turn the knobs of your life in your own ways, or are you taking time to consult the one who already has the answers and knows exactly what we need to do in every single moment and situation? If it’s the former instead of the latter, what are you going to do about that??