The boys stomped their shoes through the kitchen, laughing and shoving each other to get out the back door first. The trampoline was calling their names. After the door slammed shut, I swept the mounds of black dirt into the dustpan as my daughter watched over my shoulder. 

She observed, “This new dustpan cleans much better than our old one did. No matter how much I tried sweeping up our messes before, I couldn’t clean it all up myself so I would just sweep it under the rug.”

Out of the mouth of babes. No matter how much we try sweeping up our messes, we cannot do it alone. 

God often speaks to me through my children and it’s always a humbling experience. 

This past week, we decided to finally switch bedrooms. The girls were sharing a room with the twins but now that they were climbing out of their crib, they were ready for a big boy bed. 

We dismantled the big boys’ bunk bed, the girls’ day bed with trundle underneath, AND the crib. Everything was a mess with pieces of furniture stuck everywhere in the house–along the dining room wall, propped behind the couch, and stacked up on the kitchen floor. It took some fancy maneuvering to walk from one end of the house to the other. 

The plan was to immediately reassemble the beds and have everything set back up with a girls room and a boys room. Ahhh….the best laid plans. So now it’s been a week and the rooms still aren’t finished. The mess is driving me up the wall and every night I get the shakes!

Do you have messes in your life? Toys scattered through the house? Mounds of laundry piled sky high on the couches? What about other kinds of messes? Strained relationships with friends or family? Problems at work? Spiritual messes?

There may be something we need to lay at the foot of the cross every day so that God can pick it up and carry it for us every day. Sometimes several times a day.

There has been a pretty big mess in my life lately that I’ve tried ignoring. Then I tried sweeping it up on my own but I kept missing pieces so I too would just “sweep it under the rug”, like that would take care of everything. It didn’t help at all. Finally, I took it to the Lord in prayer. 

It should’ve been the first thing I did. 

Lord, this is too much for me. My heart is hurting. I’m angry and upset. I am frustrated and tired, weary and worn. The days are not long enough for all I need to accomplish and I don’t need this extra mess in my life right now.

Daughter, I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 

Ummm, ok Lord, so this mess is part of your plans for me?

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

That’s what I want, Lord. Renew my strength, help me to run and not grow weary. Help me walk without fainting. I’m just tired of messes. Messy houses, messy lives. I like order and things where they belong. I like knowing where I stand with my friends. I don’t like feeling uncomfortable around family because of strained relationships. 

My child, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to Me. And my peace, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Thank you, Lord. Give me wisdom this week as I encounter even more messes. Here I stand again, laying all of my messes at your feet. Will you carry these messes for me? Help me to see these people who frustrate me and make my life messy as people you love. Give me compassion for them and help me to give grace and mercy where needed. Thank you for your mercies which are new every morning. 

What are you doing about the messes in your life? Are you trying to clean them up on your own? 

Here are some of God’s promises to encourage you if you also have messes in your life:

• For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back from captivity.   -Jeremiah 29:11-14a
• Cast all your cares on Him for He cares for you.   –1 Peter 5:7
• I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?   –Jeremiah 32:27
• And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.   –Romans 8:28

I hope these promises find their way into your hearts and you soak up God’s truths. Every mess God has allowed into my life and yours gives us an opportunity to learn something valuable about God’s mercy. When mercy meets our messes, it’s transformed into something beautiful, something God can use for good.

Until next time,

The Farm Wyfe