I Just Had an Anne of Green Gables Moment

Most of my life....since I was ten, I have been a huge fan of the movie series Anne of Green Gables.  Without even trying, in my 31 years of living, I have noticed how my life's adventures closely compare with the stories and adventures that Anne had in that fictitious tale.  haha!!  I laugh about that alot. Her response to her world and all the silly predicaments she'd get herself in is so amazingly similar to my little life that it still shocks me.  I could probably write all day about the funny similarities I have with the character Anne Shirley, but I'll save that for some day a LONG time from now. ha!

All that silly introduction to say, there is a scene in the first movie of the Anne of Green Gables series where she is walking home with her teacher, Ms. Stacy.  In this scene Ms. Stacy is trying to get Anne to talk about the trouble that seems to have arisen between Anne and her best friend Diana. Anne shared how she was heart broken to have lost her best friend all because of a mistake she made.  Ms. Stacy told her (in some certain words) that tomorrow is fresh and that Anne can start all over with a clean slate instead of living with the remorse of her honest mistake.  Anne replied (and I'm not quoting) that she was encouraged that tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.   That little dialogue from that movie/story has stuck with me and I am reminded of it often.

Also, I often remember that as a little girl, my mom would remind me that God's mercies are new every morning.  This truth from God's Word has also stuck with me all the way through my life. Today, I encourage myself and you, my friends and sisters, that this day is new....it's fresh with no mistakes in it. God's mercies toward us are NEW every morning, including this one.  I find that so refreshing!

In Junior High school I had such a child-like faith in God to lead me and direct me.  I believed God could do ANYTHING.  To be honest, now as an adult, I struggle with believing that every moment of the day. But at that time, it was easy.  I saw God was able to do great things and I looked for great things to happen.

Short story:
I remember one silly situation from when I was in eighth grade.  My youth group's Sunday morning Bible study teacher challenged us to read God's Word daily for at least five minutes.  So, I tried that.  It was a cool time for me as a junior high girl to read God's Word before I got to school each day.  Well, one morning, after my five minutes of reading, I took a few seconds to talk to God.  I remember telling him how I wished I could speak less negatively at school around my friends because I wanted them to see God in me, through words of kindness and love.  I knew that I rarely was able to achieve that goal.  So, I told God that morning; (remember..."told") that I was going to strive to honor Him in my words that day and not speak one negative thing to anyone for an entire school day.  Wow! Kinda lofty goal, huh? HA!

As I rode to school with my mom, I was gearing up for the challenge I set before myself.  I entered the building and walked to my locker, got my books, walked into my 1st hour class. So far, so good.  However, no one had spoke to me yet. Ha!  When I arrived in class, one of the popular guys in our school walked by to his seat and said something that was meant to make fun of me in some way.  Suddenly, feeling my face get red, I snapped back, "Shut Up!".  Immediately, my "promise" to the Lord that morning came clearly into my mind and my heart fell.

Throughout that first period class, I was feeling so bad for not even making it through the first class, let alone the first five minutes, without saying anything negative. (Looking back on this story makes me laugh, but at the time this was SERIOUS.)  I was feeling so rotten when I had promised God I would spend at least one day honoring Him with all my words.

However, somewhere in that first period class, my spirit got this comforting feeling and I realized that I failed at my goal simply because I tried to do it on my own.  If I had asked God to give me the strength and the love for my fellow man that day.  If I had asked God to be the one to speak through me.....allowing His love to penetrate my heart and overflow out of me so that others would naturally see and feel His love, THEN that would have been a more successful goal.

All this to say, I know that living my life in fear and anxiety of failing is silly, since without God's strength, love and daily help I am destined to fail at some point in my journey.  God is the One I can lean on, who I can always trust in to bring me through each day, helping me to make the most of every moment.  And since He is so able to help us, guide us and restore us, I know I can count on Him to be there for me each day.  Also, since He is the One who brings mercy into our every new day, we can trust that each day is truly new and fresh and clean, with no mistakes in it.  He has wiped the slate clean.



Lamentations 3:21-23 (The New Living Translation)
"Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning."
*Thank you, Mom, for always keeping this great truth fresh in my head. Even twenty years later, it's still sticking. 

Psalm 51:7 & Isaiah 1:18 are also great verses about this thought. You can use www.biblegateway.com to quickly look up both of these verses. 

May our Lord bless you today with the knowledge of His presence, with the knowledge of His love, with the knowledge....deep in your spirit.....of His constant watch over your life.  May you be blessed to know that today God's mercies begin afresh.  Love you!