At my school, we use chalkboards. You heard me correctly. Chalkboards.

Every day I teach, I need to constantly wash my hands and use hand lotion due to the excessive dust from the chalk!

Let me fill in the context.

I teach various science classes at a private Christian academy. We meet on the second floor of an old catholic church. The church is more than 100 years old. They still hold services on Sunday but during the week, there are some 45 students filling the halls with chatter as they rush to and fro through the halls. Here is a picture of the church.

The building is old therefore the stuff in the rooms tends to be old as well.

So I use a chalkboard. A dry erase board would be nice.

Now don’t get me wrong here. We have wi-fi in school. I use a computer to show various videos. My two high school classes are intertwined with Google classroom.

It makes for a nice blend of new and shiny versus old and dull.

One of my favorite parts of my day (this sounds really trivial as I type…) is when I clean the board.

A damp cloth is all it takes. The eraser gets most of the lines but the wet rag will make the board look new again. A clean luster shines off the black slate.

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I am looking forward to 2020. It will be a chance to start new again. Just like that old chalkboard that has seen thousands of chalk lines, there have been thousands of marks in my life.

These marks can be mistakes I have made.

People I have met.

Choices I fretted about.

Places I have visited.

Food I have eaten.

And not all of them are worth remembering.

I smile as I look back on 2019. Most of it is positive or good. But there is always room to improve.

I know that I am forgiven and that God has placed me in His hand.

Of this, I am sure.

I just wish that some of the junk would be washed away.

That is why I like new and fresh starts. The junk seems to be washed away.

May these last few weeks of the year be a great time to reflect on God’s faithfulness.

Remember His goodness.

Re-live His blessings.

And look forward to many more things in 2020!

Teaser: In January, I am blogging about some Old Testament characters. But until then, for the rest of December, I will be looking at Christmas from a rather untraditional and unexpected point-of-view. I hope you join me.