Messes and Piles

The With-God Life

That’s the focus this first 25 days of A Year With God, noticing the presence of God.  Funny, as I was meditating on that, the reality of God being present with me in the room, my first thought was, “What a mess! God is here in this mess.”  I have been cleaning out clothes storage closets; the largest one serves more like an attic and has clothes I fear back to 1998.  Had clothes back to 1998.  Now most of them are in white bags destined to the Salvation Army, but I digress.

My first thought was fear and shame, that God would have to find a seat somewhere in the mess and the piles of these two rooms, my home office and the guest bedroom, beds now nearly invisible under sorted piles.  Then, it came to me; that’s not God, to be angry about my mess.  He loves me, with the same unconditional love I have for my children.  He sees through the mess to me, to my heart, to my needs, and He knows I love Him, flawed and imperfect love that it is. 

My first instinct, first thoughts were from the evil one I know.  Just this morning I had looked up some passages on God’s presence like Hebrews 13:5 where God says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” John 3:16 says those wonderfully familiar words, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should have everlasting life.

I have long loved the gospel of John, and today I find such great comfort therein.  I love John 14 -16, where John speaks of our relationship with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. One God in three persons, they work together to care for me.  So today, I am with God, here in my house, and it is a wonderfully comforting thing.  Regardless of how anyone else feels about me, He loves me, and my mess is OK with Him.  He knows all about it, and He still loves me.  And He loves you too.

image from http://uberhumor.com/a-mother-duck-carrying-her-babies