"I want to give you something!" God said to me.
"Okay!" I replied.
"Go outside, and go for a walk", God told me.
I left the house, not exactly sure what to expect. It was 10pm, Thursday September 27th, 2012. I was staying as a guest at my brother Ryan's house in Milwaukee, WI. I walked outside and decided to walk to the right. I took a few steps down the sidewalk and then noticed an area of the street that brought back some wonderful memories.
Exactly two years before that evening, at around the same time of night, I was on that street corner laughing and playing games with a group of friends. One of those friends happened to be a girl I was very interested in at the time. That night, she and I laughed and played like little kids. There was an innocence and purity I felt, and a hopeful love that I hadn't felt in a long time. All these memories and feelings flooded my heart as I stood there two years later under those same street lights.
The crisp and cold fall wind sent me hiding beneath my flannel. As I admired the falling leaves, God gave me the gift He promised:
"I am restoring you completely back to a place of purity and innocence. It is as though all of your past relationships and mistakes never happened. I'm giving you a clean slate, a white blank page. Have hope, and lend love as freely as a child."
In that one moment, God completely restored all hope for what a future relationship will be like. I wanted to run and jump and dance through the streets, but I thought the neighbors might take notice to the bearded man wearing a flannel running like a crazy person outside their house, and I didn't feel like entertaining the police that evening with my story.
God makes all things new, and this is what grace can do.
