Happy Mess
We were at our weekly neighborhood playgroup this morning when my "usually happy" little girl began having a meltdown...to me this is just a normal occurrence, to my neighbor mommy friends it was surprising. See most of the time they (along with tons of people I interact with) often comment about how happy my kids "always" are and so they were a little surprised to see one of them having a meltdown at playgroup! I'm so used to people asking, "are your kids always so happy?" to which I will reply, "NO, they are not!" Although I'm very thankful for two kiddos with such sweet dispositions {most} of the time, they are still humans and they are sinful. They still have meltdowns {as today's episode proved to be true}, they whine, complain, yell, talk back, don't always listen or obey mommy and daddy, the list goes on. As my child was having this meltdown, I looked at one of the mom's who has never seen either of my children cry {and often comments about that} and I said, "see they do cry". One mama raised her hands in the air and said, "Jenny's kids are normal!" Although she was joking, it was interesting because of what she was insinuating about what is normal, that being, normal is not having it all put together.
This got me thinking further...what does a life "not put together" look like? Is it culturally acceptable to not be "put together"? And how often do I {or you} go about our day feeling the need to "have it all put together" so that we don't look like a complete trainwreck in front of people? This happens more often than I'm sure people want to admit. The mentality of, "if I look like I'm doing ok, then maybe it's just so". The problem is, you may think you're hiding from others and fooling them {and maybe most people buy into it} but in reality it's doing a diservice to ourselves by thinking we're happy, but really a mess. So a happy mess, and some people truly like to live in their happy mess because this means they don't have to deal with pain, hurt from years past, or live in denial of the current reality of their life. Whatever it is, it's a painful way of living and keeps one in bondage.
The fact is, I think we're all a mess, some just hide it better then others. I say this, because there are those people {I have met them} who think they are perfect and don't have any problems. But if we were all honest with ourselves, we could recognize that we all have faults, brokenness, and pain that reside within our heart. This doesn't mean I think we should walk around broadcasting our issues to everyone we see, there is wisdom in seeking wise counsel for something that may be troubling us deeply. Yet I also don't think this means we have to conjur up issues, but rather it's an admitance that sin has entered this world, caused humanity to become broken {that includes us} and makes us in desperate need of a savior. Enter Jesus Christ. He's the one true God. He is the healer of the broken. He is what gives life. He is the one who draws people to Himself. He is the only One who can provide true and lasting joy. And he does all this for His glory alone, not for our own gain. Sure, living life in relationship with Christ, true relationship, brings joy...deep rooted joy that is founded in the Gospel and can't be shaken by life's circumstances.
We hope to never discourage our children from being themselves and holding to their happy dispositions, but we do also aim to train them up in a way where they feel like they don't have to hide behind that part of their personality when something is wrong.
So what mask(s) do you hide behind? Is it your "always happy" reputation, the need to impress, the fear of looking imperfect, fear of people knowing who you really are deep inside, is it pride? Don't let yourself be blinded by your happy mess that you lose out on a life that can offer complete fulfillment, a life lived in obedience to Christ, a life that will prove far greater then anything else this world has to offer you.
This got me thinking further...what does a life "not put together" look like? Is it culturally acceptable to not be "put together"? And how often do I {or you} go about our day feeling the need to "have it all put together" so that we don't look like a complete trainwreck in front of people? This happens more often than I'm sure people want to admit. The mentality of, "if I look like I'm doing ok, then maybe it's just so". The problem is, you may think you're hiding from others and fooling them {and maybe most people buy into it} but in reality it's doing a diservice to ourselves by thinking we're happy, but really a mess. So a happy mess, and some people truly like to live in their happy mess because this means they don't have to deal with pain, hurt from years past, or live in denial of the current reality of their life. Whatever it is, it's a painful way of living and keeps one in bondage.
The fact is, I think we're all a mess, some just hide it better then others. I say this, because there are those people {I have met them} who think they are perfect and don't have any problems. But if we were all honest with ourselves, we could recognize that we all have faults, brokenness, and pain that reside within our heart. This doesn't mean I think we should walk around broadcasting our issues to everyone we see, there is wisdom in seeking wise counsel for something that may be troubling us deeply. Yet I also don't think this means we have to conjur up issues, but rather it's an admitance that sin has entered this world, caused humanity to become broken {that includes us} and makes us in desperate need of a savior. Enter Jesus Christ. He's the one true God. He is the healer of the broken. He is what gives life. He is the one who draws people to Himself. He is the only One who can provide true and lasting joy. And he does all this for His glory alone, not for our own gain. Sure, living life in relationship with Christ, true relationship, brings joy...deep rooted joy that is founded in the Gospel and can't be shaken by life's circumstances.
We hope to never discourage our children from being themselves and holding to their happy dispositions, but we do also aim to train them up in a way where they feel like they don't have to hide behind that part of their personality when something is wrong.
So what mask(s) do you hide behind? Is it your "always happy" reputation, the need to impress, the fear of looking imperfect, fear of people knowing who you really are deep inside, is it pride? Don't let yourself be blinded by your happy mess that you lose out on a life that can offer complete fulfillment, a life lived in obedience to Christ, a life that will prove far greater then anything else this world has to offer you.
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