On a good day I feel pretty good about myself. Don't you? But there are many days when I recognize just what a mess I am.
A coworker loaned me a book called “Ministry in Ordinary Places.” It’s a great book. Shannon Martin is a good writer— you know, the one that weaves words together flawlessly and actually proofreads (unlike yours truly)
She is an adoptive parent but that’s not what her book is about — it is about what it is like to live intentionally along side people who aren’t like you. Moving from the country to the city and married to a jail chaplain, she works out her faith by walking with people whose lives are really messy and learning as she goes along from those people.
One of the realization that we’re all a mess in some way. It may not be because we are getting out of prison …. Or because we are battling addiction to drugs and alcohol… or because we are unemployed or living in poverty.
But it could be because we have created our own prison with our fears and anxiety. Or we could be addicted to success, approval, or …. Dare I say, food? Or it could be because we are over-valuing the things money can by and considering ourselves to be above those who have less.
Romans 3:10 in the Amplified Bible spells it out so clearly:
As it is written and forever remains written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS [none that meets God’s standard], NOT EVEN ONE.
We are all a mess. And not only do I need to be in relationships with folks who are different than me because they need me to walk with them …. But because I need them to walk with me through this journey of life. They teach me stuff. I learn from them. I have learned this so well with the girls I have attempted to mentor through CarePortal.
Living intentionally….. walking with people side by side…. Learning …. Growing… and admitting we don’t have all the answers — that we are a mess that only God’s grace can make whole. That’s what life is all about.
If you haven’t seen this video yet you need to stop everything and watch it. Just sayin.
https://youtu.be/j4wYkS8Z3Io
I say I'm fine, yeah I'm fine oh I'm fine, hey I'm fine but I'm not
I'm broken
And when it's out of control I say it's under control but it's not
And you know it
I don't know why it's so hard to admit it
When being honest is the only way to fix it
There's no failure, no fall
There's no sin you don't already know
So let the truth be told
I'm broken
And when it's out of control I say it's under control but it's not
And you know it
I don't know why it's so hard to admit it
When being honest is the only way to fix it
There's no failure, no fall
There's no sin you don't already know
So let the truth be told
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