Beautiful mess

The Floor was dirty, empty glasses on the stage area, chairs left everywhere other than where they should be, stage lights left on, the multi media space left in a complete tangle. The toaster has half a cheese toastie stuck to it. The hall is a complete mess!

That's what I walked into this morning at S21.

The students had a gathering last night!

Say no more!

Dawn is away at a meeting.

I'm lost in the tidying up department when Dawns not here! I don't know where any of the cleaning equipment is! How sad am I!

I'm worryingly lost domestically when it comes to messy rooms. Domestically challenged is probably what you would call me. I'm not shy of doing my share of cleaning but I definitely need direction in that area.

I looked at the mess and waited for the Saturday hospitality team to arrive at 10 am!

They should set me straight!

I've got a whole hour before they arrive!

It's really quiet in S21.

Last night it would have been rocking with the vibrancy of students worshiping God.

I look at the mess.

At first I'm pretty much ticked off.

Then.

I find myself staring at it.

Reflecting on it.

Deeply.

Thoughts drop into my head like, "it's not on!" Or "I'm going to have to have a word with these guys on Sunday!" I'm shocked at my thoughts, I must be getting old! It seems like five minutes since I was leaving the same kind of messes!

The mess is bad as I look at it.

But it begins to look beautiful.

A beautiful mess.

I reflect on the day when we opened S21 doors for the very first time. Not knowing who would ever come to this building.

I'd have given anything for a mess in the hall then!

And now.

We have mess every day.

And I am glad!

These students just wanted to worship God.

They forgot to clean up.

I'll let them off!

Cos I love them!

I thought about yesterday.

Yesterday, I prayed with so many who had mess in their life.

One lady came and asked me to pray. She's pole axed by pain in her back, her apartment has a hole in the wall that is keeping the place cold, she has had a life of abuse from others, she doesn't have much money, she is desperate to give up cigarettes that are causing her immeasurable breathing problems. I prayed with a guy who's wife has just told him she's having an affair, I prayed for a girl who was so tired she was in tears, I prayed with guy who was so far into drug addiction that his life is in grave danger.

Mess.

It's amazing how mess appears in our lives. Either suddenly or due to a build up of life stuff over years.

The thing is, these guys wanted to bring their messes to Jesus.

Gods better at tidying up than me.

He's not domestically challenged like me!

He specialises in cleaning up our messes.

As I ministered to these guys yesterday, and all the others who I minister to everyday I thought this morning how much I count it a privilege that people would share their mess with someone like me.

And I think of those who I have shared my own messes with.

And I wonder if God sees it as a beautiful mess.

A mess that he can tidy up.

If we recognise that he is the ultimate cleaner of our messes.

Our horrible messes?

Jesus sees as beautiful messes I'm sure.

Because he is available all of the time and ready always to clean up our messes. If we would only turn to him.

Ask him to.

He'll expect us to do some work with him of course. He will expect us to make some adjustments in our lives and some changes.

But he will clean up our mess.

We strive way to often. Struggle to deal with the mess we are sometimes in. And we sometimes try everything the world offers or says will help. Try and deal with it on our own?

Way to often Jesus is a last resort.

We see our mess as horrible.

He sees it as beautiful.

Because he has the means to clean it up. He has the means to show us the best way of tackling it.

Whatever it is.

So if you feel there is a mess in your life right now? Make Jesus the first port of call not the last resort. He will lead you to the right help, the right people, the right direction and the right conclusion.

He really will.

The hospitality team has arrived, they will show me what to do to clean up this mess that is in our building.

So ill crack on with it.

Blessings today.