I have tended to hate messes. 

As a child, I turned inside out at the thought of jumping in a mud puddle.  At the first sign of getting my hands dirty during art period in school, I was petitioning my teacher for a hall pass.

Those external preferences of “not getting dirty” seemingly reflected what was also in my heart. 

Striving for years to look like I had it all together, my life exploded in what could only be described as “a mess” by anyone.

Divorce, single parenting, moving more times than I can count, remarrying, blending a large family and mentally deprogramming from years of religious cult abuse was, hands down, the messiest season of life I have ever navigated!

I would love to tell you that I cooperated with God wholeheartedly during that season – patiently waiting for Him to guide, direct, and love me through it.  But, I didn’t always. 

Many times, I saw the mess and began to work on polishing it, hiding it, or trying to clean it up myself because I didn’t want others to see it.

Can you relate?

No one wants others to think poorly of them.  Add to that any amount of pride and ego (which we all have to wrestle with daily) and having messes in our lives is something no one wants to talk about.

Yet, here’s the beautiful truth about messes –

~They make us all relatable.  Galatians 6:2 instructs us to “carry each other’s burdens”.  In other words, let’s help each other through our messes!  We can’t help each other if we’re busy putting a gloss-finish on our own issues.  Let’s be real – the fact that we all have messes in our lives helps us understand, empathize, and have compassion towards each other.

~They level the playing field.  None of us have attained perfection yet (Romans 3:11) and we all need God’s grace applied to our lives in the same manner (Ephesians 2:8).  Messes put all of humanity on equal footing in desperate need of the same life-giving Gospel.

God walks with us through our messes to help develop us so we might grow in His grace, love, and mercy towards others! 

Whatever “mess” you find yourself in today, friend, embrace it, trust God in it, and lean on those people around you who can help walk with you through it. 

In the words of inspirational author E. Messer, “Having someone help you doesn’t mean that you failed; it just means that you’re not in it alone.”

Until next time, Grace and Glory!