14 Days of Praise & PositivitySample

Mistakes Into Confetti

He has made everything beautiful in its time. ECCLESIASTES 3:11 ESV

I am a professional lettering artist, and I still make mistakes every day! I misspell words, or I write an ugly letter. Not a day goes by that I don’t smear ink or make something I’m not really proud of. Early on in my business, I would get frustrated when I had to cast the mistakes aside; the scrap paper bin beside my desk was overflowing with colorful scraps that were almost right but not quite.

One day I got the nudge to run my scrap paper through my office shredder. Out came the most beautiful confetti you’ve ever seen! Once it became confetti, you couldn’t see the mistakes anymore. All the scribbles and textures and colors worked together in a new way to make the confetti more beautiful. Confetti is just trash, y’all. It’s the scrap paper, the broken pieces, the misfits, and the damaged goods that were cast aside. But then it was repackaged one day and given a brand-new job—a job that just so happens to make many people very happy. Confetti is just trash that’s chosen a much happier life.

Today I choose to find joy in the mess. I am not as hard on myself when I mess up in lettering (or in life) because I know I can turn my mistakes into confetti. We all make mistakes. It’s how we bounce back from them that really matters. I give myself grace and take pride in everything I’ve learned along the way.

God made my dream come true when my children’s book Betty Confetti was published. I am honored to write the story I wished I had known as a child and for the opportunity to share this life lesson with a younger generation.