In the Middle of My Mess

I am a mother to three boys. I grew up with only one brother and we pretty much were relatively quiet people who, aside from a little scuffle here or there, mostly kept to ourselves. I was not (nor do I think anyone ever could be) prepared for the commotion that would be associated with brothers. And while I’m sure I don’t have to state the obvious, let me just say that life with all boys sometimes feels like a never ending hurricane.

Big, Middle, and Little. Oh how I do love them so. They can be truly sweet. Big is pretty responsible and wise. Middle is my headstrong sensitive soul. Little is perhaps the most well mannered but is also the major catalyst in the hurricane. This morning at breakfast, Middle was quietly eating cereal when Little came up from the side and spilled the entire bowl into Middle’s lap. This was not surprising considering we spill cereal here at least four times a week. I heard Little giggle with glee at his efforts and Middle just said, “Oh no!” and then sat there doing nothing. He just let the milk drip through his lap and onto the floor. Never moved. Never yelled for help. Never picked up the bowl. Just sat there in the mess.

Recently at church, there was a guest speaker named Chris Railey. This gentleman is today the head of the Church Multiplication Network for the Assemblies of God.   In short, he is essentially a consultant that works with pastors to help them plant new campuses. Through his work, hundreds and hundreds of churches have been started all over the US and beyond, and millions have been reached for Jesus. At the very end of his message, he began to tell the story of how his life began. He was born to a young teenage girl in Mississippi who made the brave decision to place him for adoption. She had no idea that by that one courageous decision she was planting a seed that would come to fruition as a young boy raised by loving parents in a Christian home who would go on to become a prominent leader changing the world around him and making an impact on the kingdom of heaven. To close, he made a such a profound statement that stuck with me and has played on repeat in my head many times in the weeks that have followed, “For all the mistakes the young girl made, God blessed her one act of obedience.”

I find it so refreshing to believe in a God who is willing to look past our mistakes, our shortcomings, and our grand failures to bless our one act of obedience. I find it disheartening how many times I have behaved just as my Middle—not calling out to the one who can clean up my mess, but rather just sitting in the middle of it in hopeless despair.

I heard a song recently that said, “When you see too far gone, I see one step away from home.” Too often, we refuse to make the one step in a different direction– the one step out of the pain, hurt, bitterness, sadness, or failure to our home where His arms await to embrace us. If we only remembered that God doesn’t see the mess we’ve made or the mess that has been made at no fault of our own. He sees our heart. He sees when we are willing to step back in His direction.

You are not too far gone. No situation in your life is too far gone. Don’t sit in the middle of your mess. Take the one step back towards home. His love is waiting…