When my daughter was a year and a half, she was feeding herself well. What that means is she was getting most of the food in her mouth but the rest ended up on the floor or more likely on her clothes or in her hair and on her face. I never did understand how you could possibly get cereal behind your ears, but if there was any way possible for food to appear in unexpected places, my daughter would find it.
I remember this one particular day when she was eating yogurt, and being fairly proficient with a spoon it shouldn’t have been a problem, but I returned to the room to find her entire face covered with pink goop. In frustration I wondered if she would ever stop being so messy and I reached to grab the wet cloth to start cleaning her up. Before I could even get to the washrag, she looked up at me with her big, ‘innocent’ brown eyes and smiled as she shoveled more yogurt into her mouth using her hand! Of course my heart melted and I laughed at the joy in her face.
We all lead ‘messy’ lives. Messy lives full of laughter and loss, happiness and hurt, brilliant moments and embarrassing moments (I have lots of those J ), great oratory and angry words… life is messy because we are in it and we are human and flawed. So, sometimes we add to the mess, and other times it is others or nature itself that contributes to the mess, but that is life. And our lives are fleeting, “…even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.” Jm. It is often the messy things of life that cause us stress and frustration. We’d like everything to go smoothly, but it doesn’t.
In our plans, we get everything accomplished that we want or need to get done. In our schedule, the kids are never late getting ready, the car never gets a flat, the traffic jam never leaves us late for work, and Timmies gets our drive thru order right the first time- and we aren’t prevented from getting our blog post done on time! See, no mess… But that isn’t reality, so we have a choice to let the messiness bring us down, or accept it, step by step get through it, and trust God to make the best of it. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” Rom.
God has a plan and purpose for our lives and it won’t be as neat and tidy as we’d like- but it sure will be more interesting. His plans for us now include us maturing, and His plans for our future are an eternal life of peace and joy. In between is the journey that helps us mature and grows our character in ways we cannot imagine. We need be okay with the messiness of life and trust the Lord (who loves us) more:
There are many devices (plans, intentions) in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel (advice, plan, purpose) of the LORD, that shall stand. Pr. 19:21
A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps. Pr. 16:9
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Jer. 29:11
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. Jm. 1:2-4
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Pr. 3:5,6
Lord, help us trust in You more, and lean on our own ways less.