Many would never recognize the name “Bette Nesmith Graham.” but she invented one of the most used office supplies of the last century. At the age of 32, she could be found in a garage in Texas, working with a bucket of white tempura paint, a handful of recycled nail polish bottles, and labels that she made herself.

Bette Graham was trying to solve a problem she faced as a secretary, and little did she know that she was on the verge of creating one of the most popular office products of her lifetime. At the end of her surprising entrepreneurial journey, she became a multi-millionaire, selling her business for $47,000,000 (over 178 million dollars in today’s currency).

Bette was a single mom with no research or financial expertise but a 9-5 office secretary at Texas Bank and Trust. However, she loved to paint.

At the age of 17, she dropped out of high school, married a WWII soldier, had a baby boy at the age of 18, and then found herself divorced four years later, raising her son alone. Her office salary was $300 a month ($36,000 in today’s currency). Bette’s exceptional typing skills moved her into the “executive secretary” position at Texas Bank & Trust. That was the highest position for a woman at the bank.

Her son, Michael, in his autobiography, states . . . .

She bought a five-room house with money that she inherited from her dad. “I knew that my mother was concerned about making ends meet. She would often burst into tears that would panic me in return as a child.

She was held back in the ordinary job market because she was a woman, and she was always looking for an opportinty to rise out of this economic prision. She made a living by keeping two active jobs, one as a secretary and the other as a commercial artist. These two skills would combine in her invention of Liquid Paper.” 1

The invention of electric typewriters and the change from fabric to carbon typewriter ribbons created the possibility of more and faster errors, along with greater difficulty in erasing those errors. Personally, I’ve used a lot of “White Out” (liquid and tape) over the years. As I used electric typewriters over the years, I have often said, “You don’t make fewer mistakes; you just make mistakes faster.”

Bette knew that artists never erase their mistakes when painting on canvas; they merely paint over them, “so why couldn’t typists simply paint over their mistakes?”

The original name of her product was “Mistake Out.” In 1956 she started the “Mistake Out” company.

“Her son Michael and his friends filled bottles for her customers. Nevertheless, she made little money despite working nights and weekends to fill orders. Bette Nesmith left her typing job at the bank in 1958 when Mistake Out finally began to succeed: her product was featured in office supply magazines, she had a meeting with IBM, and General Electric placed an order for 500 bottles.”

Her product underwent name changes and became commonly known as “Liquid Paper” or “White Out.”

Today, with the invention of the computer, not many people use a typewriter. Corrections are quickly made on the computer or phone screens. In fact, our devices will even make the corrections for us automatically (and sometimes create even more mistakes with the autocorrect feature).

There are a lot of other kinds of mistakes that no one has invented a product to correct — parental mistakes that we wish we could correct, things we should have never said, decisions we wish we could paper over, deep regrets we would like to correct, or sinful choices we would like to “white out” of our minds.

When it comes to human mistakes, there is no man-made invention that “White Outs” them. However, the Lord has provided a divine solution to forgive and blot out our sins. The blood of Jesus makes our sins as white as snow. “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool (Isa. 1:18).

Yes, there are a lot of mistakes in life that we may not be able to correct, but when it comes to forgiveness, the Lord’s “Mistake Out” solution is always available and works on the darkest types of sin.

During this Easter season of the year, place your trust and hope in Jesus as the only One Who can and has paid the penalty for our sins. Trust Him — that He is who He said He is, our Saviour — and that He did what He said He did when He died on Calvary, He paid for all our sins.

“And it shall come to pass,

that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord

shall be saved.”

Are you 100% sure that when you die, you will go to Heaven? If not, we would welcome the opportunity to send you a Bible and/or talk to you personally. Just contact us at TMart2007@Gmail.com

RISEN FOR ME

Wounded for me, wounded for me,

There on the cross He was wounded for me;

Gone my transgressions, and now I am free,

All because Jesus was wounded for me.

Dying for me, dying for me,

There on the cross He was dying for me;

Now in His death my redemption I see,

All because Jesus was dying for me.

Risen for me, risen for me,

Up from the grave He has risen for me;

Now evermore from death’s sting I am free,

All because Jesus has risen for me.

Living for me, living for me,

Up in the skies He is living for me;

Daily He’s pleading and praying for me,

All because Jesus is living for me.

Coming for me, coming for me,

Soon in the air He is coming for me;

Then with what joy His dear face I shall see,

Oh, how I praise Him! He’s coming for me.

C.S. Lewis stated, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

We have been made for another world, a world where we will find rest, satisfaction, and peace in our God and Creator.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

— Matthew 11:28-30 —

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1. “Infinite Tuesday,” Michale Nesmith pgs. 49-50