If you love to cook, like me, you know that it’s always messy when you are in the middle of making whatever it is that you are making.

There’s a huge new house on our street that’s been under construction for a long time. We watched it being built on our many walks.

The frame went up, then the insulation, then came layering the brick façade on top.

What in the world???  

Robert and I were puzzled. We weren’t the only ones.

People would stop and stare and ask, is it supposed to look like that?

It was a mess!

You see, the bricks were not the same color. There were six different colors of bricks. The house resembled a patchwork quilt. It made no sense. Until…

They started painting the house white.

I guess(?) they must have gotten a good deal on bricks. It hadn’t mattered what color they were because they were painting over them.

When it all came together, it was a beautiful house.

I decided to clean out the pantry.

I took everything out and put it on my kitchen island. Napkins, cereal, trash bags, paper plates and lots of other items covered the island.

It was a mess!

But as soon as I started putting things neatly away, it was no longer a mess. The pantry felt bigger and calm because it was now organized.

When You Only See a Mess Have Faith

When you are in the middle of a mess, you don’t see how things are going to turn out.

What’s important during this messy time is to treat yourself gently. Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit.

When you are in the middle and it’s messy or whenever you find you find things getting hard and you want to give up, treat yourself gently. Have faith that things will come together, even though you may not see it now or how.  

Messy Times Give Us an Opportunity to Lean on God’s Strength

It’s in those messy times that we are almost forced to rely on God’s strength. When things are going great, we tend to lean on our own strength. We say too often, “I’ve got this.”

That attitude leads to self-sufficiency, something our western culture promotes all too well. It also leads to stress and overwhelm (this link will give you more tips how to avoid stress and overwhelm).

So, know that things are almost always messy in the middle. Welcome those messy times to trust God more fully.

Find it challenging to trust God, yourself or others? This Trust Meditation (downloadable and CD) was created to transport you to a place of trust.

Are you in the middle of a big project that looks messy now? I’d love to hear about it in the comment section below.