Messy. Our toddler when he came in from outside. He had gone for a "walk" with his big brother, but I think his brother gave him a dirt bath instead. Literally it was down his diaper, in his hair, mouth, shoes...everywhere.
Messy. The kitchen floor after the toddler wrestled with his big brother.
Messy. My bathtub after big brother gave our toddler a real bath following the dirt bath and wrestling.
Messy. The stroller...I guess they must have gone for a walk after the dirt bath, but before coming in to mess up the house.
Messy. Mealtime at my house. Sometimes I can't watch. ;p Eager hands covering his plate with salad dressing. Mountains of BBQ sauce for three bites of meat. Cereal that literally spills over the sides of bowls. Crumbs....everywhere. Washing the table and sweeping the floor are the dreaded kitchen jobs at our house.
Messy. Our 9th day of homeschooling....well every day really. I promise, I am a fairly scheduled, schooler, rarely do little hearts and emotions fit into my schedule though.
Messy. Relationships. If I have done the math right there are 36 different relationships to be navigated in my home at any given time, if you don't include pets (which contribute their own set of issues, but rarely are they relational). So, I'll let you guess how often all of those 36 relationships are sailing smoothly...um rarely might be generous. ;) Someone seems to always be offending or being offended or both at once. There were so many inter-personal disputes among my children the other day that required my attention. I was seeking to address each of their little hearts, but that takes time and energy. So many of them needed heart-tending at once that by the time I finally got around to the last one, I had completely forgotten what I needed to address with him. Thus came the classic line, "Do you know why you are in time out?" Now I know why parents ask that....its because
they can't remember.
Messy. Speech in our house. If you are a grammar person cover your ears. We have technically 4 esl kids in our house, plus a toddler and two other boys who could really care less. So we hear "dumping dacks" (jumping jacks). "They is tired." "My tooth is blood." (My tooth is bleeding.) "Caw" for car, "bote" for bolt, "ba-wee" for very and so on. Not to mention, lots of pointing and grunting. Can we say, "use your words?"
Messy. Marriage in the midst of seven little crazies. Yes, I over-reacted, but honestly a spat over the shoe basket near the front door....really? Yup, it was just that kind of day....but, in front of the in-laws? Yup! I think they still love me, or feel really sorry for my kids (just kidding I know you love me) because they both stopped by to play with the kids and help me out the next day. Spats or no spats, the romance will never die in this house thanks to the youngest little lady in our house (6 years). She is obsessed with the idea of us (as in Mommy and Daddy together). She grabs my hand, puts in Paul's and giggles, "Mommy and Daddy." Or she greets Daddy with a hugs, drags him in the house and says, "Kiss Mommy!" More giggles. Yes, Little One Daddy is my prince, even if we spat over silly things from time to time.
Messy. Little hearts that need Jesus, but don't yet see their need. What hurtful words can be spoken, what ugly tones used. What nasty looks can be exchanged. All that from children who can also love so deeply, care so tenderly and forgive so quickly. Messy indeed.
Messy. My heart in the midst of mess. Frustrated after a bunch of child craziness, Paul asked me what what I needed. My reply, "for the kids to stop acting like kids." He laughed and reminded me that that was not going to happen. True. So, if kids, marriage, meals, houses, homeschooling and relationships are messy, why am I always fighting the mess? I don't know. Maybe we weren't really created for mess, and crave to be free from it, yet fight the fact that the only freedom from it is Jesus in the midst of it.
Messy. The gospel. Christ's suffering for my joy. Christ's condemnation for my pardon. Justification: bloody, painful, divine. Sanctification: daily, painful, deep. Jesus didn't come to clean up the neat and tidy, He came to rescue, redeem, and purchase the messy, the dead, the needy.
Messy. The place the gospel dwells which is good news indeed for my family and all of our mess.
