There was a little plaque I used to have on the wall when my kids were little. It said, “This mess is a place.” This was my reminder that I need to loosen my grip on my need to have others think I was a woman in control. Allowing for the possibility of a mess, reminded me that the place I was in was more than a stage for the world to applaud my performance as wife, mother, homemaker, etc. The mess was evidence of life and growth, of nurturing and relationship, of tangible relevant interactions between people that can’t take place in a sterile environment.

It’s so easy to get our focus on how many things are out of order that we forget who we are and where we are. There are days I look around my own soul and I have to remind myself that “This mess is a place.” It’s a place that I incorporate my thoughts and hash out the reality of my feelings. I have to remind myself that God isn’t afraid of my mess. In fact, He placed the seat of His Spirit right in the middle of it.

One thing that my children learned is that a mess can’t stay and the place remain, so we also learned how to clean up – from time to time. That’s what I love about the Holy Spirit. His love doesn’t let our mess stay that way either. But it is by His direction that order comes from chaos and our mess takes on definition. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you have to be all cleaned up for God to be pleased with you. He’s not looking for a performance, He wants relationship! Learn to be comfortable with Him in your mess.

– Kiersten Adkins