Messy Houses....

Not very long ago, I left my messy house on a Saturday morning to help out a friend. I left my countertops sticky from the mornings breakfast, unfolded laundry on the kitchen table, bathroom sinks with toothpaste stuck on the sides. I felt torn leaving behind my mess, but yet knowing that my friend was in need of a friend and some conversation for a couple of hours.

I pulled into the driveway of the house so perfect on the outside that it could easily grace the cover of Southern Living thinking about how wonderful it would be to watch my kids ride their bikes on such a perfect driveway. Life on the outside of their home seemed perfect, complete with birds chirping away on a beautiful Saturday morning.

I opened the door to hearing the shriek of children fighting over toys, unfolded laundry graced the living room furniture and dirty dishes filled the sink. I immediately smiled to myself and felt relieved that I was not the only one with a little bit of craziness.

My friend and the messiness of her home ministered to my heart in so many ways. I immediately felt grateful that she did not feel like she had to "clean up" before I came over. She could have stuffed laundry in various places and led me to believe that "everything was perfect", but yet she let her guard down and let me know that she was real and it is okay to be real in front of others. 

During our visit, the most amazing thing happened as our children happily played outside together. She continued to clean and I began to fold laundry. In an hour her home looked completely different. I realized that during the messes of our lives, if you roll up your sleeves and I roll up my sleeves to help each other out and hold each other accountable, things get better a lot faster. She assured me that it is okay to accept help from others, no matter what kind of mess that we are in.  My friend contacted me later that day and said "Thank you so much for all that you did!  I am amazed that we got so much accomplished!"

The mess of messy houses teaches me so much about the love of Christ. So many think that we have to clean ourselves up before we come to Christ, get our act together before attending a local church body. But it is quite the opposite. Christ wants us to come to him as we are. Not as what we hope to one day be. Specifically, when we are living in sin, no matter the sin his love draws us near and through his love , together we clean up our mess.