Sometimes we find ourselves in a big ol’ fat life mess.
Perhaps it’s due to a decision we made. Or a choice someone else made. Or a life season. Or whatever. The important thing to remember is that when we are in a big ol’ fat life mess… God is sovereign, He is over it all, and knows what He is doing.
And oftentimes, if we open our eyes (and our hearts!) that mess will turn into a pretty suh-weet Jesus message.
Been there. Done that. Living it now.
In my last post, “When you Wreck– Rejoice!” I told you all about my latest life, um, “adventure.” (Ok. Wreck. Mess. Whatever you want to call it. Adventure sounds more optimistic.) Yeah, at 34 weeks pregnant, we (as in myself and Little Patriot) were in a car accident that jacked up my car Ladybug pretty significantly. (As in… we need a new one. No pressure. It’s fine.) We were all physically ok, but shoot dang– my nerves were SHOT.
The next day after the wreck, I was one stressed-out future Mama. Less than 24 hrs before, I had been feeling pretty legit about this whole “final countdown” to baby’s arrival… my to-do list was in ok functional order, I was swimming in the peace of God, and physically I felt pretty great.
But post-wreck day found me slightly overwhelmed– a big ball of nerves. I had yet to legitimately cry about the whole experience (that wouldn’t come til a few days later) and my to-do list had exploded in a matter of seconds. Rental car, insurance, car shopping, cleaning out Ladybug at the impound/tow lot to say goodbye (Sidenote: Those places are like car funeral homes. Super sad place to hang out) etc, etc, etc. Oh, and not to mention that just a few days prior, our upstairs toilet broke AND our washing machine had decided to go kaput.
The peace from God I had been living in (and loving) was suddenly buried under dozens of phone calls, repairs and paperwork.
Needless to say– I was in a less-than-chipper mood. A bit stressed.
Yeah. That expression kind of captures how I felt, post-wreck. Minus the groomed-ness. And the BFF making faces in the background.
But as usual– God showed up. In some big ways.
First, the rental car driver showed up by 9:15am (kudos for being motivated.) I stumbled into the car to go pick up the rental. I casually asked the driver Chris how he was doing.
His response? “Meh. I’ve been better. Today sucks.”
FAN-TAST-IC. My driver was a Debbie Downer. Honestly, my fleshy heart was regretting that I even said anything for small talk, because I wanted nothing more than to focus on my iPad Wunderlist to try to get a handle on what my day was going to look like.
But Jesus intervened. I responded to his bummed out answer with “Well, Chris, why is that?”
He proceeded to tell me how much he despised his job, how it was raining that day, how he wanted to move out-of-town, that it was his birthday and nobody cared, etc.
I turned to him, blinked and said, “Well happy birthday. Perhaps we should count our blessings today?”
He looked at me with sad eyes and said, “Yeah, whatever.”
At that point… I had already had enough. There was gonna be no sugar-coating from this preggo gal. Before I could stop myself, I was laying some truth on him… In a rather brash kind of way.
I said, “Well, Chris. Let’s shift our perspective a bit. Psalm 118:24 says “Today is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.” SO LET’S REJOICE! It could be worse you know. After all, you could be the 34 week pregnant lady who totaled her car last night and is the one in need of a ride to a rental car. Also, let’s remember that you have a job, you have clothes on your back, and I am going to guess that you had the choice to eat some breakfast this morning, correct?”
It sounded kind of harsh (it was– probably not in my best loving Christian voice) but apparently, it was the kind of truth the man needed to hear. “Well… I guess you are right.” (Dang skippy, I’m right! <I didn’t say that part out loud.)
For the rest of our short drive, I softened and listened to his story… I coached him on resources to find a new job and I tossed in some advice on trusting the Lord in all situations. As I got out of the car, I wished him happy birthday again, told him he did a great job driving me to my destination and asked how my husband and I could pray for him. His voice cracked as he shared his requests… and he thanked me for taking the time to listen to him.
Sometimes people just need to know that you care… and even more to so to know that Jesus cares. As quick as you could say, “Would you like extra rental car insurance?” God had changed my mess– into His very powerful message.
Messy and ok with it,
SGK
“That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” ~Romans 8:28 MSG
PS: In what life instances has God used a mess and turned it into a message? I love to hear your feedback, stories and testimony. Be bold and comment below!
