So I did as he told me and found the potter working at his wheel. But the jar he was making did not turn out as he had hoped, so he crushed it into a lump of clay again and started over. JEREMIAH 18:3-4 (NLT)

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Leave it to Beaver is a classic television show filmed in black and white and chock full of important life lessons for young boys and girls. Wally and Beaver’s mom always asked good questions. Their dad always offered sound advice. It is the kind of television which the last sixty years have rebelled against. I prefer Beaver’s world.

One of the regular characters was a boy nicknamed Lumpy. I always think about him when I read this text. Have you ever felt like a lump of clay that is being formed and fashioned into something special yet is ultimately unsatisfactory? Things did not turn out as hoped and you are returned to your original lumpy self and the process begins all over again?

Most people have had to begin again. Those who have not most likely will at some point. I am having lunch today with a man who recently began all over again. It was his choice. The shift was a natural refocusing of his life resulting from following his life mission.

I am meeting with another man after lunch who recently experience a shift not of his own choosing. He has a steady job in an honorable profession. However, he longs for more. He wants to get back on the path he was on before he was returned to lump-of-clay status. [https://bit.ly/30NEGUO]

If you have ever thought you had somehow lost the path or had it jerked out from under you, please know that God is good at helping people start over again. As he helped Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; Moses, Joshua, and David; Peter, Paul, and Mary Magdalene; he will help you and me as well. I may look like an old lump of clay now, but you should see the masterpiece I am going to be one day! (See Ephesians 2:10 NLT.)  [https://bit.ly/3nsKwEL]

Yesterday an old friend called. A new opportunity has arisen he never saw coming. It offers the life and work he always dreamed of but that had always eluded his grasp. A few years ago, he experienced a hard reset on life. The rug he was standing on was pulled out from under him and he was firmly in lump-of-clay territory once again. Now he is on the verge of all of his dreams come true. 

What is happening to him can happen to you. Starting over again can be the best thing that ever happens to you. Check out the end of the story of those characters two paragraphs above. Sometimes the best thing we can do for our computers is to restart them. Maybe you need a restart today. Trust your unknown future to your all-knowing Father in heaven. It’s a different black and white television show, but the title fits: Father Knows Best. 

What does he know that you need to know? Feel free to ask him for wisdom and direction. He gives it freely without criticizing you for where you are and how you got there (James 1:5, 6). He is more interested in where you end up than where you are now. He will lead you every step of the journey into the special future he has planned for you (Psalm 23). 

There are no hopeless ends with God. There is a fresh start for everyone who says, “I am ready to begin again.” 

Are you ready to begin again?

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I will hit the reset button as often as necessary.

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Our Father, guide us through the turning points of our lives. Adjust our paths as often as necessary. Correct our courses. Show us the way we should go. We trust that where you guide, you provide. You know the way, show the way, and go the way with us. You know best. Empower us to begin again. Amen.