The Mess

Each time I gave it a stir, it seeped over the edge and bubbled. With only half the ingredients in the skillet so far...I had to continue. So I dalloped, spooned, poured, and mixed in the next 4 ingredients until I had a skillet full of yummy goodness overflowing and heaped high, needing to be stirred yet again.  I was given the blessing today of preparing a meal for several special people. I chose a recipe I have made in the past that was a big hit with my boys...Cheesey Enchilada Casserole . Because I was making the dish for more than I typically prepare, I doubled the recipe. I purchased twice the amount of ingredients, got out an extra baking dish, and seemed to be prepared, well almost prepared. As I started adding ingredients to the skillet, I noticed it was filling up quickly and would most likely not hold the remaining amount. As I added each ingredient, it got fuller and fuller until it was past its capacity, which I might add is an understatement. So, once I was at the point of no return, what to do? Evidently, I forgot to double the skillet size. I now have a skillet full of yummy spilling over and burning the excess on the stove. Transfer to a larger skillet? Divide it into two skillets? Or embrace the mess and keep on stirring? For some odd reason, which is not typical to my character AT ALL, I chose to embrace my mess...and WOW...what a mistake! I think the mess multiplied in a matter of seconds. I quickly changed my train of thought and dealt with the overflowing yummy mess.

I cannot help but think of the mess that we allow into our lives sometimes. Perhaps we can foresee the mess ahead, but still do not prepare ourselves fully for it. Maybe we somewhat prepare, but not to the extent we should. Or maybe we have mess in our lives that slowly seeps out, little by little, until it adds up to a huge mess. Or its possible that we have one big mess on our hands and we choose to embrace the mess and continue on, its already a mess so whats a little more mess already added to my mess? Following me or totally lost? Bear with me as I try to bear with my thoughts. Let me break it down and make it simple for you (and me) to understand Mess=Satan. I believe it is a fair statement to say that when there is mess in our lives, Satan is involved. (Sidenote: If you are one of the special people I prepared a meal for....the mess I made while preparing your dinner had nothing to do with Satan, it was simply an analogy. I assure you that your meal was prepared with love and kindness!) Back to the mess. What mess do you have in your life? When I think of mess, I think of things such as stress, schedules, worries, baggage, fears, betrayal, dishonesty, enemies, temptations, and addictions. These are all things that may seem innocent and easy to deal with in small amounts. Whats one day of a hectic schedule and no time for the kids, tomorrow will be a new day? A more than friendly text to an old flame...no big deal, they live 4 states away. The truth would have really hurt her, all I was doing was protecting her. It's just this one time, nobody is around, and nobody will ever know. One little bubble over, that seems it would be easy to clean up and deal with. Our God is so good, always standing by our side, ready to hand us a larger pot, switch us to a larger pot, or clean us of our mess. But what if we dont turn and ask him to? We now have two or three spills that have bubbled over. Now that little lie has snowballed into something your having trouble keeping up with. You now feel you need that daily fix to get by. If you dont do all the things on your list you will let others down and what would those people think of you then? You now look forward to hearing from that old flame each day. This is how the mess starts and grows and spills over before we even know it. So what are we to do? Prepare. A recipe is only as good as the prep. Your life is only as good as the prep. What am I doing to prepare for this life God has for me on this earth? There is a long list of things we can do to prepare: spend time in God's word, spend time in worship, surround ourselves with godly friends, etc. But the greatest and number one thing for best preparation is simply turning to God daily, hourly, minutely and asking his guidance and desire for your life. GOD IS the best preparation. God is the ONLY preparation for avoiding mess. 

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9

"Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin." Psalm 51:2

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Ephesians 2:10