Real Life is a Mess, A Beautiful Mess

I'm part of MOPS and the theme for the year is "Beautiful Mess".  So lately I've been thinking a lot about mess and perspective, especially after the amazing weekend at MomCon.

A few weeks ago, I ended up with a few great photos and thought about doing a "this was our day" type post on the blog.  But then I remembered, I'd moved some unfolded laundry out of the background of a photo, I didn't play Legos like I'd promised, spent too much time on my computer and I'd forgotten to get supper started so we ate late, and I went to bed with a kitchen full of dirty dishes.  And I didn't want to post about the day and edit out parts.  I want to be real.

Then I read a statement from another blogger much wiser than I, reminding everyone that blogs, Facebook, twitter and pinterest are a person's "highlight reel".  Its cannot to be compared to the "full game" you are living, day in day out.  We all do it -- summarize a portion of our day or a snippet of our life as a Facebook status, blog post, funny story to friends, etc.  So the next time you see that person that seems they have it "all together" remember you are only seeing a portion, a slice, a moment.  They just as likely have dishes in their sink or a basket of unmatched socks or lost their temper sometime that day.

As moms, we spend a lot of time dealing with messes, so often serving our family, our kiddos by cleaning up messes that we didn't make.  (Granted usually my messy kitchen is a direct result of my attempt at cooking).  It is easy for me to get distracted by the mess, by the chore, by the to-do list, that I miss the beauty in it all.  The messy fingers of the little one who calls me mom, sloppy kisses, dirty dishes reminding me that there was plenty to eat, muddy footprints on the floor from fun outdoors, etc.

Not only is there beauty in the mess, I need to keep reminding myself that God meets me in my mess.  He's not afraid of my messy heart, the places in my life that need work, the relationships that I have made a mess of, the times I make the same mistake over and over again, the brokenness that is part of me.  He loves each one of us, right where we are.  He kneels next to us, holds us as we sit in our mess, and love us as we are.

Life is messy.  Faith is messy.  Sin makes everything extra messy.  We are all broken.  But when we place that brokenness at the foot of the cross, let go of that mess and give it to God, it can be turned into something beautiful.

One of the points from the speakers at MomCon that I keep pondering is this:  Often it is our greatest pain [or biggest mess] that can become our greatest ministry.