As I sat with a friend, sipping green tea and chatting on Sunday, our conversation turned to some of our unlikely friendships. We were talking about people that God has thrown in our path unexpectedly. My friend said to me, "I just love broken people! I am a hot mess! So I love reaching out to people that are broken like me!" I quickly agreed! I am a hot mess, too! And I am a broken person. Truth be told, we all are broken in one way or another.
After that conversation with my friend, I have thought so much about her words. God LOVES to use our mess! Not matter how messy our lives have been, He can turn things around and make our mess beautiful! If we were all perfectly honest, we all have some sort of mess in our lives, whether in the past, or something going on right now. God's greatest desire is to use our mess for His glory! He wants us to be honest about our messes, share our testimony with others and be vulnerable enough that others can see what He can do with a life despite our mess! Obviously, we must use wisdom so we do not hurt those whom we love. We don't want to throw our loved ones under the bus by telling all their sins and failures while telling our own. There is a time and a place to tell our story, and God will give us wisdom as to when that time is and how much we should say. But we still can trust His hand enough to guide us when it's time to tell what He has done in our lives.
Most of the time, we don't even have to tell our story. We can just use the wisdom He has given us to listen to others that are going through hard times. Most people just want to be heard. They want someone to listen to their story and love them anyway. Love them no matter what they've done, or where they are in their life.
For me, today, I am going through the hardest time of my life. Divorce. It has been so painful. I have been faced with my own sin, as well as the effects of the sin of others. I am learning to walk humbly in the face of hurt and pain. I am learning to stop and think before I speak. But through this journey, God is growing in me strength and endurance. I wish He would have picked another way. This is NOT the mess I would have chosen for myself. But this is the path He is allowing me to walk. There are new, scary challenges at every turn. He meets me there time after time.
The day will come when He can use my hot mess in the lives of others. For now, I covet your prayers for wisdom and strength as I walk through the doors of this new life. Though I do not do things perfectly, My Father's hand is on my back, guiding me every step of the way. He holds me in His arms at night, and sings over me. He is truly my everlasting love.
Here is one of His many promises to me....
"Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not
be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in
the desert." Isaiah 43:19
AMEN!!! Much Love!
