Spilled chocolate milk on a freshly cleaned sofa and fresh eggs dropped on the floor with the yolk scattered wide definitely make a mess. No one likes to deal with those kind of messes ever.
Our over-reaction to a spilled glass of chocolate milk or dropped eggs gives insight into our hearts. Just maybe we were upset about something else. The spilled chocolate milk was just the tipping point.
Christmas is messy. Christmas ministry is messy. And sometimes it makes the church messy. The public is so very generous and we graciously receive with gratitude. The Salvation Army receives gifts, toys, food to help with Christmas Assistance and Food Insecurity all year round – and yes the church does get messy. It seems like things are everywhere. So the church (which is a big part of family services by the way) can be messy. Sometimes we can over react to the things we see as so called messes that surround us because things have changed. And we feel lost as we see ministry happening and just maybe passing us by because we are more concerned with the mess rather than the ministry.
I was reminded this week that through the messes we bring a sparkle to someone’s life. We bring hope to a family who is struggling and a parent who has lost a job…and…Maybe…Just Maybe, we can bring a smile to the face of a child.
Remember, whatever is a mess to you is a wonderful opportunity for God. God works in and through the messes and that mess becomes a ministry. Begin to declare the Hope and Life of “the mess” and get ready for some amazing things to happen!
