As a child, when I would do a page of homework, if I made a mistake at any point in writing out the assignment, I would tear out the page, wad up the paper, and start over on a clean sheet. I couldn’t stand mistakes, smudges, or scribbles. Consequently, I spent a lot of time “starting over.” Knowing this, Mom kept me well supplied with paper, pencils, and pens, and made sure I had plenty of time to complete assignments flawlessly.

 

Unfortunately, life is a little more complicated. Although we make New Year’s resolutions, and determine to “turn over a new leaf,” it’s not so easy to rip out the page that contains our embarrassing mistakes and start fresh with a new sheet. We end up with smudges and smears that just won’t go away. For many people traumatized by failure, the agonizing question is, Will I ever be able to start over?

 

An oft-quoted mantra states, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” But it’s hard to take that as a positive statement when the consequences of your bad choices stare you in the face every morning. It is even more difficult to hope for a fresh start when you are suffering from things that were inflicted on you by other people over which you had no control.

 

How do you get off this terrible treadmill? How do you forgive and move on? How do you pick up the pieces of your broken relationship? How do you forget the past? How do you change your outlook? How do you overcome the pain of abuse? How do you recover financially? How do you become a different person? Can you really start over?

 

I am very thrilled to tell you that the answer is yes! You can start over. You won’t be required to rewrite a homework assignment, but your life can be as fresh as a clean sheet of paper.

 

Starting over is not about rushing out and buying all the latest self-help books or trying to work up a positive mental attitude. Certainly, there are many helpful books on the market, and a good attitude is important, but those things in themselves are not the solution to your problems. To start over in life, in marriage, in relationships, or any other situation that needs to be changed, you need a power that is greater than your own—the power of God.

 

So how do you start over? A Chinese proverb says, “The journey of a lifetime begins with a single step.” But usually it’s that first step that is the most difficult. Recently, while out shopping, I ran into a friend who used to attend my church. She had gotten discouraged and quit coming during a trying time in her life. As we talked, she shared how much she wanted to come back, but she said, “It’s just so hard to take that first step to walk back through the door.” I encouraged her to do so, and I’m happy to tell you that, two weeks later, she did.

 

It’s really that simple. First, take one step toward God. “Come near to God and he will come near to you” (James 4:8, NIV). Turn to God and acknowledge that you do not have the power within yourself to change your situation. Ask for His mercy. Thankfully, God’s mercy and compassion are plentiful and fresh every day. “It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). Being convinced that a fresh supply of mercy is available each morning inspires hope that you can make a change and gives you courage to take the second step: repentance.

 

Tell God you are sorry for the wrongdoing in your life and seek for His overcoming power through the infilling of the Holy Ghost. (See Acts 2:38.) God’s Word promised, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Having all the ugly habits, attitudes, or deeds cleaned out by the forgiving power of God makes you able and eager to take a third step.

 

Allow the Spirit of God to make the needed changes. Let Him replace the old detrimental habits, vices, and thoughts that made you unhappy, with a new way of thinking and living that brings peace and joy. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17).

 

Fourth, forget the past. What’s done is done. Accept God’s forgiveness for past failures and ask Him to enable you to forgive others for what they have done to you. The apostle Paul, who, before he was converted to Christianity spent his life persecuting and killing Christians, said, “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Paul could have let his past keep him captive. He could have allowed it to prevent him from becoming what God wanted him to be. But he didn’t. He put it behind him, set his eyes on a goal, and kept moving forward. Paul’s example is a good one to follow.

 

Last, but not least, walk forward into your future. The Bible said, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

 

Your life can be different. Sins can be forgiven. Wrongs can be pardoned. Relationships can be mended. Habits can be broken. Finances can be replenished. God’s love and favor can be experienced. You can start over, if you take that first step. So, just do it!