Here’s your personal invitation to join us over at Lisa-Jo’s as we gather our small 5 minute prompts together to make one big community of grace. Won’t you join us as we reflect on MESS and what that means to us right now. Ready, Go!

I scamper, I scurry, I close the door.
I bark orders. The guests are coming!
And I want things picked up, to offer the appearance of “clean and inviting”.
I like when the house is tidy, when it is open and welcome.

But, there it is, lurking behind the bathroom door- all that laundry. It is not dirty, well maybe a little, but it is not folded either. Piles and piles, waiting to be addressed, needing attention. I’m embarrassed on one hand but not motivated enough to get it done and it keeps growing; this stuff. I really need to go through it, get rid of some it, put it away. But, not just laundry, right?

This managing of stuff. This leaving it out or bringing it up at inopportune times. Aren’t we really all a mess? Maybe our mess is hidden haphazardly behind closed doors, maybe it is locked away. Maybe it is sticking out from underneath the door, maybe it is right there in the middle for all to see.

When we dare tell others, or even show others, this mess, could it be that there we find freedom? Maybe there’s just a flicker of understanding in their eyes as they breathe deeper, knowing they are not alone. Maybe they will judge, because their laundry is always put away. But, maybe they are some stains on their neatly folded garments.

One summer night, many years ago, a revival broke out a movie-theater church. It started with one voice confessing a secret mess, in a safe environment. And then, one-by-one, they came up to the front, sharing their mess. As shocking as their words were, what was more surprising was the grace that rested heavy and thick and how we felt lighter and free with each confession. No more pretending or concealing our mess, here it was and He was there, willing to forgive, big enough to cover it all.

Our mess is real, but His grace sings over it, over us, and we are okay, because He’s got this, He’s got us. We don’t have to hold it together, because He holds us together. He holds us close to His heart with those nail-scarred hands. He died for our mess, while we were still there in the thick of it. I marvel at how He loves, all of us; completely.

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Living in this messy-beautiful,
Katie

Went a little longer than 5 today, thanks for grace!