There is Beauty in the Mess

Yesterday, this pretty little scene popped up into my view. We’ve got a back porch covered in broken wood and other remnants of a torn-down screened porch that are awaiting a trip to the dump. After a heavy storm had come through, the colors were beautifully vibrant and the greenery that had persistently grown through the deck boards had been ever so delicately kissed with refreshing water droplets.

Isn’t this just like real life? It can get messy from time to time, but there is still beauty within it if we pause to notice.

Yesterday was a tough day for Chad and I. We discussed a lot of heavy things. We cried together. We disagreed some. We laughed some. We helped dig out weeds from each other’s past experiences by their deepest [most painful] roots. We changed our evening plans to hold one another. We were a mess, but went to bed smiling and on the same page with one another.

Occasional “storms” will come in this life, and although they are not fun while they last, they can serve to stir up unhealthy perspectives and habits we’ve formed that should be inspected and thrown out. When we face storms together with grace, honesty and sensitivity, they can motivate us to rise up stronger and inspire us to make changes for the better. Today we are feeling refreshed and more beautiful than ever.

"But his answer was: 'My grace is all you need, for my power is greatest when you are weak.' I am most happy, then, to be proud of my weaknesses, in order to feel the protection of Christ's power over me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 (GNTD)