If my bedroom or closet is messy (and they usually are) I have a bad habit of walking through with tunnel vision pretending like I don't see it. Life is messy, too. Marriage and church and family and death and teenagers are messy. Sometimes it's easier to avoid the messes.
If I run into writer's block or only get 300 words in a day, I have a bad habit of closing my eyes and putting down my paper (or keyboard) out of frustration or disappointment. Sometimes it's easier to not push through and deal with the hard things.
If someone hurts me I have a bad habit of closing off, putting up a wall, and neglecting the relationship completely. Sometimes it's easier to pretend it doesn't hurt.
But sometimes, we must deal with the messes.
Sometimes, life is hard and we have to push through.
And sometimes we hurt.
God takes our messes (not my messy closet) and makes something beautiful. ...to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness (Isaiah 61:3).
He takes the hard things...His yoke is easy and His burden light (Matthew 11:30)...and His grace is sufficient for me, for His strength is made perfect in weakness (2 Corinthians 11:9).
And He cares about my hurts. He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds (Psalm 147:3).
The God Who created me...knows me and loves me.
The God Who created YOU...knows YOU and loves YOU.
Trust Him.
Even when it's messy.
Even when it's hard.
Even when it hurts.
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Linking with Emily for imperfect prose on thursdays.
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5 friends had this to say:
Lovely, encouraging post.
FlowerLady
praising God for cleaning up all our messes...
Ah, Shelly. God continues to use you to speak into my life. Thanks for being transparent and sincere in your post. I too am guilty of pushing past mess, and at times, shutting down as a defense mechanism. God Continues to bring me back to it and point it out to me. Not as a from of condemnation; as an expression of His love. He wants me to clean things up so I can see clearly the path before me. Great Post!
dearest shelly, you speak such truth here. and it gives me courage. thank you.
God does know me. I loved this post. I'm glad I found you. I'm not as good with the tunnel vision, but I do let myself off the hook way too often. :)
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