Beauty in the midst of mess....

Sometimes beauty and mess are all mixed up together...in nature, in a home, in a life, in me.

I am sitting in my home office and to my left is my beautiful little prayer bench, where I just spent some beautiful time with God. But right here, right next to that beautiful place, is the desk that holds my computer, and some files, and some paperwork needing to be completed...some mess that needs attention. To the left of my prayer bench is a big overstuffed chair. It would be a beautiful comfy place to sit if it wasn't holding a pile of clean and folded laundry that needs to be put away. It would be a beautiful chair to relax and rest in, if it wasn't for the mess.

I once had a friend who's house always looked like it belonged in a magazine photo shoot. The place that amazed me the most was her bedroom. The bed was always made perfectly. The sheets were trimmed in Irish lace and folded back just so, so that the lace peeked out. The bedside tables held lamp and decor...not the piles of books being read sitting next to the lamp, like at my house. How did she do it? Then, one day, the mess was exposed...she hides all her mess under the bed. Projects, books, paperwork, in piles behind the bedskirt. Everybody has mess. Some are just better at hiding it than others.

I love God's Word, because He's all about beauty, but He's realistic about the mess. We see the beauty of a worshipping David, a man with a heart after God, right along with the mess of his failure and immorality...the beauty of the people of God when they seek God's face, call upon His name, humble themselves, and the mess when they turn away to follow after idols...the mess of chaos, hovered over by the Spirit of God, before the Word spoke and said "Let there be!" and the beauty of God's creation came to be.

God of Beauty, All Together Lovely One...there is nothing messy in Him, no darkness, no shadow of turning, no secret hiding places filled with mess. And yet, He's all about me...His bride. His delight is in me. He is passionately, head over heels, in love with me. Messy me, sitting here typing in my pajamas, with hair still tousled from sleep. He sees the beauty in my mess.