Some fishermen in the highlands of Scotland came into a little Scottish inn late one afternoon for a cup of tea.

As one was describing “the one that got away” to his friends, he flung out his hands in the typical fisherman’s gesture. He did so just as the waitress was setting down his cup of tea. The resulting collision left a huge tea stain spreading on the whitewashed wall. The fisherman apologized profusely.

Another man seated nearby said, “Never mind.” Rising, he took a crayon from his pocket and began to sketch around the ugly, brown stain. Slowly there emerged the head of a magnificent royal stag with large antlers. The man was Edwin Landseer, England’s foremost painter of animals.

Now if an artist can do that with an ugly, brown stain, what can God do with my sins and mistakes if I but give them to Him?