The mission of The Holy Mess is to help people find God in ALL things, every moment of your life. The mission statement came to me as I mulled over my favorite Scripture passage from 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in everything.”
Those wise words from Paul roll off the tongue when everything is smooth sailing in life. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I chose those verses as my mantra when all was well, proving that if I rejoiced, prayed and gave thanks, life would be lovely.
Fast forward to 2020, and then try saying those verses out loud. They take on a whole new level of meaning. It has been much more challenging in the last ten months to rejoice, pray and give thanks, and simultaneously, that much more imperative to keep doing so.
I found myself really getting sucked into the vortex of despair this fall. If there was a choice to be made between positive or negative, I leapt head first into the negative. I complained about EVERYTHING: my job, my marriage, my kids’ school year, every fun thing on the calendar getting cancelled, not seeing a single extended family member the whole year, and on and on. This has been the hardest year of my life, and I think many of you would say the same. We are all on edge, mourning our losses, and trying to figure out what to do next. We have every right to complain.
But here’s the question: WHAT GOOD DOES THAT DO US? Sure, it feels good to get everything off our chest, but then we have to keep moving forward, otherwise we get stuck in the complaining. People who complain have always been one of my biggest pet peeves, and yet, I couldn’t see how guilty I was of that for so long. Isn’t it amazing how we can point out the faults of others in a nanosecond, but conveniently turn a blind eye to the same fault in ourselves?
Early in November, the priest at the church I work for had to quarantine, so I was asked to lead a communion service that weekend. My initial instinct was to make an excuse for why I couldn’t do it, but something compelled me to realize I needed to be part of the team I work with, and step up when help was needed. As I wrote my reflection for the communion service, the trajectory of it morphed into an unexpected message that I needed to hear probably more than the people it was intended for.
I spoke in the reflection of a quote my mom shared with me a long time ago, and it has hung on my fridge ever since: “It is always possible to be thankful for what is given rather than to complain about what is not given. One or the other becomes a habit of life.”
When the words came out of my mouth that Sunday, I realized which habit I had been choosing, and how I desperately needed to change it.
So I am trying to LIVE out those verses from Thessalonians instead of just reciting them.
I will REJOICE that my family gets along well enough to endure all this together time.
I will PRAY even in the moments when I don’t know what to say. Just be with me God. Give me what I need to get through this day.
I will GIVE THANKS for realizing how little it takes to feel blessed. This ridiculously difficult year has taught me to take nothing for granted: a hug from a friend, sharing a meal with people I love, cheering on my kids in a crowded gymnasium as they sing and dance their hearts out at a show choir competition. Just the stuff of every day life. When we recognize how grateful we are in those moments, they become holy. God is there.
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