faith

Untangling the mess

I spent some time going through my clothes and jewelry last week to see what I really needed and wore, and what I could donate. I came across a necklace that was tangled and it made me think of my dad.

Whenever my mom, sister, or I would get jewelry tangled up, we would set it on my dad’s dresser and within a day or two it would be laying on the kitchen counter, magically be untangled. My dad is basically a necklace untangling pro.

Necklaces

I must have been feeling pretty introspective while going through my belongings because thinking about my dad untangling necklaces made me think about how God untangles messes in our lives.

I feel like constantly mess up things in my life. I make mistakes, big and small. I fail. I ruin opportunities and chances. I feel cowardly and lazy. Basically, I fall short of the mark on a daily basis.

And yet all of my mistakes, struggles, and failures have worked out for good in some way or another. So many of my struggles have connected me to others in deep, deep ways. Our messy, tangled up lives can be so beautiful when we look at them way God does. He sees me make mistake after mistake and continues to love me.

When I sit in the middle of a hurricane of fear, doubt, and inadequacy, God is right there with me. He assures me that everything I go through makes sense to Him, and that he’s going to untangle it.

More, please

Every morning I try to set aside time to read my Bible and write in my journal. My first order of business is thanking God. 

Life has been so beautifully full lately. I keep thinking I’ll have more, please, if that is your will, God. 

Life isn’t always easy, but it is incredibly blessed. The hard days are blessings in their own special way. The good days are absolutely amazing, and I want to soak it all in.

I’ll take more sunrises. More mornings eating breakfast outside. More evenings weeding the garden. More walks with Lola.

Sunrise

I’ll take more time with my sister. More acro yoga. More laughing. More watching her grow up into the amazing woman God made her to be. (P.S. Hannah started a blog!)

Acro

I’ll take more celebrations. More birthday parties. More get-togethers. More date nights. More time meeting new people. I went to my friend Kim’s house for her daughter Annabelle’s first birthday party and it was such a beautiful celebration. I can’t believe sweet Annabelle Grace is a year old!

Annabelle Birthday

I’ll take more renovations. More time making our house a home. More happy exhaustion from hard work. More trips to hardware stores to wander around aimlessly.

Bathroom Work

I’ll take more of Pittsburgh. More baseball games. More exploring the city. More new restaurants. More adventures.

PNC Park

I’ll also take more time spent with God. More journaling and Bible studying. More writing. More Pinterest browsing. More time spent reading and listening to podcasts. More traveling. More smiles. More coffee. More photography. More sleeping in. More staying up late. More drawing and painting. More deep conversations.

Thank you, God. If it’s your will, I’ll take more, please 🙂

What will you take more of in your life?