Featured Article: A Beautiful Mess

A Beautiful Mess
By Sarah L.

A beautiful mess? I admit it, my house is a mess. On any given day there are discarded shoes by the garage door, school papers on my kitchen table, random Legos everywhere, a sock here, a sippy cup there, and a beloved stuffed animal laying on the floor waiting for nap time. My house is not dirty necessarily. I do clean and I clean often but there is no doubt that it is very messy. Sometime between child # 2 and child # 3 I just let the idea of having a clean, sorted, and organized house go.

Admitting that I have a messy house is surprisingly not the hard part. It sort of comes with the job of motherhood. The thing that is very hard to admit is that sometimes I feel like a mess and not a beautiful one either. The theme for the MOPS 2013-14 year is "A Beautiful Mess". I don't know about you, but the words beautiful and mess don't seem to go together.

I certainly know what a mess looks like but what does a beautiful mess look like? "The theme reminds moms that beauty can come out of their difficult spots." Can you think of a time when beauty came out of something difficult? How about motherhood, marriage, relationships, or hard work? All of those things can be very difficult but beauty can certainly come out of them. "The grime of mothering young children brings the beauty of motherhood. The bruises of life can bring God's redemption." (www.mops.org)

Each of us has something that is both beautiful and messy in our lives. I would guess if you thought about what is most beautiful in your life there is a bit of messy story behind it.  This year MOPS is asking us to embrace our stories. "Embrace Your Story" reminds moms that their past, present, and future can be used for good.  God knows where each of us has been, where we are today, and has set in motion where we are headed." (www.mops.org)

Isn't it wonderful to know that we don't have to be "clean" or "perfect" when we are in a great group like MOPS? We can be our beautiful, messy, selves because everyone - yes EVERYONE - has something that is difficult and messy that makes eaach of us beautiful in a unique and special way.

The question I should be asking is not what does a beautiful mess mean to me but what does a beautiful mess mean to God? God sees us as beautiful and perfect and his redemptive love is there to restore us and give us hope. If you are going through a hard time in your life right now and it is hard to see the beauty in your story, turn to your Father's loving arms where he sees you not as a mess but as a beautiful and capable woman and mother. You are beautiful, embrace your story!



If you have something going on in your life right now and you would like the Steering Team to pray for you please let one of the Coordinators or your Discussion Group Leader know or fill out a prayer request card at the next MOPS meeting.