The Test and The Mess

 Daily Gratitude Year 10-Day 285: Today, I am grateful for the test and the mess. 

"Stay strong! Your test will become your test-imony, your mess will become your mess-age." -Max Lucado

We all live through seasons of what feels like a test and a mess. We can't see the purpose in the loss, the hurt or the suffering. Still, we press into the refuge of His wings, we watch and we wait. 

There are times, we don't see a purpose in the pain. The purpose of the test seems confusing. The mess seems irreparable.  In those broken, messy moments, we surrender to His will and pray, "Thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven." Powerful words. 

Seasons change. Not in an instant, but in time. We have to trust His heart and His clock. Do we claim His purpose over our own plans?

" For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was his plan from before the beginning of time—to show us his grace through Christ Jesus. And now he has made all of this plain to us by the appearing of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He broke the power of death and illuminated the way to life and immortality through the Good News." -2 Timothy 1:9-10 

When you find yourself at wit's end, practice the pause. Look for the test and embrace the mess. It is temporary. 

Today, I am grateful for the test and the mess.