Regrets, failures, let them go. Clean, new, white as snow.

I awakened to streams of unusually bright light sneaking out from behind the curtain in our bedroom of the lodge where we are staying. Stronger than the smell of firewood and fresh bacon and louder than the squeals of children enjoying their new toys, was this white light. It beckoned to me to jump up and see what was behind this bright start to my day.

As I opened the curtain I saw it. Thick white blankets of snow covered everything: the lodge, the lake, trees, fences, and the ground. There was no sign of dirt or debris, just fresh, white and clean scenes. Every direction I looked was decorated by God Himself. I was mesmerized.

Then I heard Him speak, “This is what I offer to you every morning.”

“It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning…” (Lamentations 3:22, 23).

“Saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

As long as you walk forward in the snow, it remains beautiful, uncluttered and pure. The moment you begin to retrace your steps in the snow, dirt and mud make their way into the scene. If you continue walking over the same path, the mud overtakes the snow and the beauty is soon destroyed.

This is much how it is in our life when we refuse to let go of the past. We spend our time retracing the same steps over and over, until there is little left but dirt and regret.

God paid the ultimate price for you to enjoy His new mercies every morning. He daily offers you your own winter retreat—a place to bury your past, your sins, and your failures.

So, in the last few days of 2009, why don’t you take advantage of this winter retreat and bury your past once and for all? God has some new paths for you to take in 2010. They wait for you.