Living in the Messy Middle…

It is no mystery that life is not always easy. Yes we can keep a positive focus. Yes we can work to have gratitude in all things. Yes we can shift our focus, or “Pivot” which felt like the third most used word of 2020 other than unprecedented and uncertain times…

All of the above is true, but I think that if we are not careful we can skip over the GIFT when we try to get to the “Happy Ending”

WHY?

Because the Messy middle, the place of struggle, the hard messy yucky sloppy uncertain, unprecedented massive mud puddle is not calling us to pivot…

It is calling us to walk through it and trust what will be on the other side…

Grace is in the Mess, it is not earned on the other side.

The days between the crucifixion and resurrection Jesus did not take a long nap…he went down into the mess of Hell and delivered those sleeping and waiting on him…

The days we are waiting for the “New Normal” to go away, for this chaos to stop, for the challenges and hate to go away we are not called to take a nap…or to keep pivoting because we are distracted by a million people doing it there way that we wonder if our way is enough…

We are called to get messy…

How so?

Love your family hard.

Seek to go deeper in your marriage.

Seek the sacraments of confession and Eucharist Often.

Pray the Rosary.

Read your Bible.

Hug a friend.

Take a walk.

Cook a yummy meal and eat is slow as you sit around and laugh about the day.

Take more mental photos with your eyes than physical ones with your phone.

Keep a gratitude Journal.

Share Good News.

Take that angry kid on a date and spend time

Tell your teens you love them so much it aggravates them

Pause often to hug a child and tell them what you love about them

Pause and pray for the people you work with.

Pray for the schools, for our country, for our world.

Pause often to smile and give thanks for the good work YOU are doing…

Pause often to say “Jesus, I love you, Jesus, I need you, Jesus thank you for everything, Jesus, I surrender to you, take care of everything…

Keep your cup full as you walk through the mud…

Mud happens yall…

There are gifts in the Messy Mud…

Non of the above things are easy…have you tried to pray the rosary peacefully as a family of 9?

Have you tried to make a meal and have everyone actually want to sit and eat it, or even like it?

Have you tried to make time for prayer daily and it always go seamlessly?

Have you successfully figured out how to love your spouse more and more each day?

If so…please share….

The world will always be messy…your little or big family will too…

We need to stop waiting for it to go away and learn to love and live in the mess, to trust who we are as the mamas called to this, and to learn to listen to the Good Shepherd who is WITH US in the mess…

Today after navigating a very messy weekend where the mud felt like quick sand I had to remind myself “I am the mom for the job” because GOD said so when he said “let there be life”…

He is with me, and friend he is with you…

So for 2021 will you join me?

“If you want to change the world, go home and love your family”

Mother Theresa.