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Writer's pictureShannon McNabb

A Messy Kind of Beautiful


#scars #bruises #messes #badchoices #beautifulyou
The messiest details can make the most beautiful picture.

"Oh, what a mess I have gotten myself into." Ever said that? Ever said and wondered how on earth you were going to get yourself out of that mess? If you are anything like me, your life anything like mine, I imagine that mess is the result of some poor choices. Choices that, at the time, seemed like the best thing, or maybe they were just for the fun in the moment. I've made quite a few poor choices myself. For some, the consequence is almost immediate. For others, the consequence may come later or even be drug-out across months or years. I made one about eleven years ago and am still financially paying for it. The focus here is not on the consequences and how to avoid them, as much as I wish I could. It is on all the twists and turns that led me to where I am and where you are.


Ever picked up a needlepoint and looked at the back side of the fabric? (Maybe you were the one doing the stitching even.) All the work happening in the background is a jumbled mess that bares little to no resemblance to the image being created on the front for the viewers to enjoy.


Look at a magnificent tree. I recently saw one which looked like the hole in the trunk should have killed it many years ago. How did the growth continue? How did it thrive with the damage received? Yet I craned my neck to look to the top.


A great physique requires time and great effort. It takes the tearing of muscle to build muscle. How many times have you heard, "No pain, no gain"? I choose to hear it this way, "Know pain, know gain", as a way to remind myself that the pain brings me closer to my goals. Are your goals anything like mine? Improved health? Stronger body? Better relationship with others? To be more like Christ?


God is creating a great masterpiece in your life and in mine. There are twists and turns along the way. Some heartaches, which give us the ability to grieve with someone who later experiences a similar pain. Some anguish, strengthening our resolve to push forward in difficult circumstances. There is also love received, enabling us to love others. Victory, to remind us of its possibility when in those valley moments.


All the mountaintop and valley experiences have made me who I am. The ones in your life have much to do with who you are today, too. The ugly mess that lies in the past, underneath your surface, have given you the ability to be the hands, feet, and spokesperson for Christ, as well as to carry you through the moments that are to come that you might think are insurmountable.


His masterpiece is your testimony. It's not all about you and me. It is ALL ABOUT HIM and what HE has done in those moments. He brings grace and mercy. He brings victory and joy. He brings hope and peace.


Sing praises to the Lord. He will restore you and heal your brokenness. He provides quenching water through the rains and satisfies hunger through the grains that grow under the unrelenting sun. He knows your pain and your sorrows, as well as your joys. Sing His praises.



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