Change What We Can (10/05/2026)

I had promised to make cookies for two events last week, so I dug out my mixer and the ingredients and went to it. I creamed the butter, sugar, eggs, milk and vanilla, added the cream of tartar and soda and flour, and stirred. It was too dry. Then I realized I’d used the wrong amount of butter. I melted another stick, stirred it in, and hoped for the best. They turned out pretty well. No one handed me back a half-eaten cookie with complaints.

I’m a bit of a nerd, if you haven’t noticed, and I have a host of favorite quotations. One of my favorites is C.S. Lewis. It goes like this, “You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.” I like this quote because in addition to being a bit of a nerd, I have a way of screwing things up royally. I tell myself, “It happens!” and then I remind myself of Lewis’ wisdom. It’s never too late to change for the good.

It happened again late last week when I went to make copies for class. I told the guy how many copies I was going to make, he gave me a figure, I paid him, and he disappeared. But then, as I was making the copies, I realized I was making copies of 6 – not 5 sheets. So, I did the math, found him and paid him the extra. “Oh,” he said, “It’s all right this time.” And I explained that it wasn’t. He eventually smiled, took the extra cash and told me, “I appreciate this.”

Things happen. Sometimes it’s a mistake. Sometimes it’s an error that could cost others. Sometimes it’s a conscious choice but we realize it’s the wrong choice in time. And we have the ability to change our minds, to change our actions. That’s one of the great things about our LORD and us. He is merciful and loving and He made us with a free will. As Lewis said, we can’t go back, but we can change going forward.

Another one of my favorite authors wrote a book about that called The Christmas Carol. Scrooge couldn’t change the past when the three Spirits showed him his errors, but he promised to change from his awakening on. I revisit that story every Christmas season to remind me that our Savior came and paid a great price for our sins – our errors – so we might be saved through Him. Human history didn’t start out well, but Christ came for us. And if we can change our ways and follow Him, our ending will change.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.