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I was at the park with my almost-2-year-old grandson, Marcus. He likes to climb more than swing, so we were on the climbing equipment, Marcus dangling dangerously just within my reach.

Another little boy, maybe 5 or 6 years old, tackled the monkey bars while his mom watched. He swung from number one to number two to number three, all the while hollering, "I'm gonna make it all the way, Mom. Watch this!" But on number five, his little fingers slipped and down he went to the pea gravel cushion below. "Ah Mom! I almost made it. Can I have a do over?" To this his mom smiled, checked her watch and said, "Sure. We have time."

Do overs. I like that concept. A lot. So much of my life has been about making it to number one. Then to number two. Even to number three. And then I lose my grip on number four or five and down I go.

God doesn't just give us do overs. He goes even further and offers us make overs—from the inside out.

Like the time I worked soooo hard to make a cake in the shape of a butterfly for my daughter's birthday. The trick is simple: Cut a round layer cake in half and butt the opposite ends together. Voila: Add a few licorice ropes for antennae and you have a butterfly. But for me on that day, just getting the cake pan to release the layer intact was a challenge. I ended up with a mound of crumbs just a half hour before her birthday party.

What I'd have given for a do over.

Or the million moments when I promise myself I WILL NOT YELL and out slips one frustrated blip after another. Do overs can make the difference between making a mistake and being one. They give us an out from our errors.

I guess that's what I like so much about God, and walking through motherhood on this planet with him by my side. He gives me LOTS of do overs. Every day is a new day. There's always another chance. His forgiveness of my blunders flows freely. All I have to do is believe it and do … over.

One of the writers of the New Testament describes this reality in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Paul says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!" At first glance such a statement seems WAY naïve and simplistic. But to the ears of a mom much in need of daily do overs, it's a message of hope and help. God doesn't just give us do overs. He goes even further and offers us make overs—from the inside out. He integrates the opportunity for what we do to arise up out of who we are—differently today from yesterday and tomorrow from today.

When I recognize my short fuse and go to bed early instead of watching the late show, I seem to manage my emotions in a healthier manner. When I mess up more than a butterfly birthday cake and instead of berating my mothering I laugh it off and let it go, I model before my children and others the difference forgiveness can make in everyday life.

God gives us lots of do overs because he's in the business of make overs. I need them both, over and over again in my days.

LISTEN UP Be inspired and encouraged as a mother of a preschooler today: tune in to Elisa Morgan on MOMSense radio. To find a station near you, or for the broadcast online, visit www.MOPS.org/radio.

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