A Beautiful Mess?
How can we know when something is a beautiful mess or if it’s just…a mess?
Because the harsh truth is, everything on this earth is going to always be a little messy. But we have to look at our lives and our relationships and decide if there is something within that mess that is worth saving. Is your marriage messy because it contains two imperfect people with their own history of heartbreak, trauma, and pain that have come together and decided to walk through the rest of their days together? Or is that relationship messy because it’s filled with one person always giving and the other taking or because one person is always inflicting pain on the other?
Our relationships are always going to be messy because we’re flawed. Our lives, our relationships, our experiences are going to always be a far cry from the flawless, overly-brightened pictures we see on Instagram influencer’s grids (and if they were honest—their life looks nothing like their Instagram, either).
We can be selfish. We can say hurtful things. And we can make bad choices. But if we are willing to see those places where we screwed up or see those places where we tried to make things better and failed, then we create the space to make things right again. That mess made isn’t the symptom of decay. Instead, it’s evidence of life, of growth, and of the different ways you’ve worked to fight for your relationship- romantic or otherwise. At the end of the day, if our ultimate goal is to build one another up rather than push them down to make ourselves feel better, we’ve got something beautiful. When both parties are willing to see and own up to the mess, own up to where they went wrong, and then come together to make things right and move forward, that mess becomes a beautiful story of love, redemption, and second chances.
What mess do you need to protect in your life?
What mess is worth elevating from a plain old mess into a beautiful mess?
Is it your relationship with your mom? Your dad? A grandparent? A friend?
Is it your relationship with yourself?
Remember, friend —you are in charge of your messes. You choose how messy they are. You choose what they become…whether you were the one who created them or not.