The Mess

To reference Will’s post, this week has been filled with the “real work” of life for us. There’s work: 8-5, bring home the bacon, get your reports filed on time work; and then there’s “real work:” big picture, getting news that rocks you to your core, gaining a new sense of perspective, change your life work.

As bad news, some superstitious folks say, often come in threes; we experienced no exception this week. We received news that another beloved member of the Butler family passed only a day after Mike. And just last night, a friend and co-worker’s newborn baby boy passed after emergency surgery around 2:30AM. I am reminded more than ever today that only by the Grace of God go we….

This morning at church, the pastor wrapped up our most recent series, “How the World Sees Church” and in doing so, began speaking about the messiness of life. As he spoke, I thought-- I am not a messy gal—I like folded, buttoned up, freshly bleached and I love to help those in need as long as (I confess) I don’t have to get involved in the mess…. (Insert spiritual bonk on the head) This really woke me up today. How does someone like me come to understand that serving to a level that is messy and often uncomfortable is the right kind of service? That sacrificing my comfort can mean lending to a greater good?

In the Song of Solomon, Jesus says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent... and now open the door.” This is a tough one for a lot of us—wouldn’t it be nice, said the pastor, if it said, “Those whom I love will be free of pain, and not have to deal with any hard stuff, and will have a super cushy, mess-free life?” Instead we are so loved that we are righted when we do wrong, that our bad choices and mistakes are made known to us, and we are disciplined to be better representatives of our selves, our families, our churches…. Believing that the path which lies ahead of us is leading Home, is for me, not always without fear of the pain I’ll suffer along the way. This is a big lesson for me.

Today, I am immensely grateful for the lives and love that surround me and for the opportunity I have. Even in all of life’s mess, we know that we are so loved, and this gives us strength for the rest.