Hands-down this is my new favorite hat! A Christmas gift to me from me. Can we just admit that when we’re buying gifts it’s kind of fun to slip one in for ourselves every now and then?
So why wear a hat with “Bless this mess” plastered front and center? What I love most is the simple truth of the embroidered message. You see, I’m a mess. And you know what? I’m just going to put it out there and say that you, well, you’re kind of a mess, too. You might just do a better job of hiding it. At least for a little while. Here’s the deal. We’re all a bunch of messed up people. And the sooner we’re able to come to grips with this, the better off we’ll be.  

In our willingness to share our messes with others we start to see that we each have our own set of challenges, problems, obstacles, and issues. We don’t feel so alone. And we can encourage each other, provide hope, and point people to resources when we’re willing to be real with each other about our mess. As we manage our way in, through, around, and out of our messes, we can help each other uncover messages and lessons hidden in our messes, too. And we can point people to God, who can make our greatest messes seem so much more manageable.

I love watching how God takes my mess and your mess and, like an artist, He creates a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. God is a redeemer. And none of it is wasted. Each of our messes becomes a part of our unique story. And our stories matter. We are a beautifully broken mess. Faith, character, patience, peace, forgiveness, grace, mercy, love, compassion, empathy, kindness, and so much more grow out of our messes. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t ask God to bless this mess. And I’m asking him to bless your mess, too. Sometimes it’s a simple prayer…”Please God, I want more of you and less of me.” 

 What about you? Do you realize that you are a beautifully broken mess? Are you asking God to intervene in your mess? Are you praying that he’ll reveal himself in a big way in a friend or family member’s mess? Who can you encourage today by being a little bit more vulnerable in sharing your mess? Is there a message or lesson you’ve recently uncovered in your mess that someone you know could benefit from if you were willing to share?