Bless this mess.....
Today's Reading: Ezekiel 2:1-3:21
Find the Reading Plan here.
This past weekend I had the absolute pleasure of watching my beautiful mother-in-love get married.
On the back porch of a mountain house with a heavenly view, the two of them said "I do".
As I watched the happy couple all weekend, this verse kept coming to my mind. It will be our Memory verse for this week. It's short, sweet, but oh so lovely.
Memory Verse:
"He will give a crown of beauty for ashes"
Isaiah 61:3
Actually the entire chapter is full of goodness and memory-worthy verses. If you have a chance, go and read the whole chapter. Trust me, you will be blessed!
Life gets messy sometimes.
I was just telling some of my closest girlfriends this past week how I thought a cute, perfect, bow-tied life is what I desired when Lem and I began our little family.
That pretty little package didn't last.
Things happen. Messes happen. Big ones. Huge ones.
Our bubbles get burst. Our hearts get broken. Our "ideal" life suddenly looks like a big fat paint splatter all over a white rug.
The irony of it all, is that Jesus Christ is right there in that mess. He didn't leave because it got messy. In fact, He never leaves.
Somehow we think that when life gets ugly, messy, confusing...that God has left us.
Oh, the contrary.
This is when God is holding us the closest. We just don't always see Him because we are focusing on the big splatter around us. If we just look up, we would see His big arms carrying us right through that mess.
"Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation!" Psalm 68:19
So, as I think about the wedding of my mother-in-love this weekend, I see the beauty that can come from ashes. I see the hope that can come from hopeless. I see the joy that can come from mourning.
Isn't that just God's way?
He makes masterpieces out of our greatest messes.
He makes sense out of senseless.
He makes rainbows from the rain.
Whatever your mess looks like today, take a second, and thank Him that He hasn't left you.
In fact, go ahead and thank Him for what He will do from this mess.
You may not see it now, but you will see it one day. You will see the beauty from these ashes.
You will smile again.
You will laugh again.
You will have joy again.
His Word promises.
embracing Him in the messes, jill
Find the Reading Plan here.
This past weekend I had the absolute pleasure of watching my beautiful mother-in-love get married.
On the back porch of a mountain house with a heavenly view, the two of them said "I do".
As I watched the happy couple all weekend, this verse kept coming to my mind. It will be our Memory verse for this week. It's short, sweet, but oh so lovely.
Memory Verse:
"He will give a crown of beauty for ashes"
Isaiah 61:3
Actually the entire chapter is full of goodness and memory-worthy verses. If you have a chance, go and read the whole chapter. Trust me, you will be blessed!
Life gets messy sometimes.
I was just telling some of my closest girlfriends this past week how I thought a cute, perfect, bow-tied life is what I desired when Lem and I began our little family.
That pretty little package didn't last.
Things happen. Messes happen. Big ones. Huge ones.
Our bubbles get burst. Our hearts get broken. Our "ideal" life suddenly looks like a big fat paint splatter all over a white rug.
The irony of it all, is that Jesus Christ is right there in that mess. He didn't leave because it got messy. In fact, He never leaves.
Somehow we think that when life gets ugly, messy, confusing...that God has left us.
Oh, the contrary.
This is when God is holding us the closest. We just don't always see Him because we are focusing on the big splatter around us. If we just look up, we would see His big arms carrying us right through that mess.
"Blessed be the Lord, Who bears our burdens and carries us day by day, even the God Who is our salvation!" Psalm 68:19
So, as I think about the wedding of my mother-in-love this weekend, I see the beauty that can come from ashes. I see the hope that can come from hopeless. I see the joy that can come from mourning.
Isn't that just God's way?
He makes masterpieces out of our greatest messes.
He makes sense out of senseless.
He makes rainbows from the rain.
Whatever your mess looks like today, take a second, and thank Him that He hasn't left you.
In fact, go ahead and thank Him for what He will do from this mess.
You may not see it now, but you will see it one day. You will see the beauty from these ashes.
You will smile again.
You will laugh again.
You will have joy again.
His Word promises.
"He will give a crown of beauty for ashes,
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the Lord has planted for his own glory."
a joyous blessing instead of mourning,
festive praise instead of despair.
In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks
that the Lord has planted for his own glory."
Isaiah 61:3
"Instead of shame and dishonor,
you will enjoy a double share of honor.
You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land,
and everlasting joy will be yours."
Isaiah 61:7
embracing Him in the messes, jill
