My Fault

In the past week or so, I’ve allowed situations to steal my joy.  I’m behind on work right now because I’ve allowed myself to get so stressed out that I couldn’t concentrate.  I started blaming myself.  This situation wouldn’t even be in existence if I hadn’t . . .

You know, the guilt game.  Think of it.  The devil knows that God has great things planned for his.  If he can get us to be consumed by our own faults, he just hands us a detour sign; and we willingly put the sign over the road God had planned for us.  We take a turn, and we blame ourselves.

I’m not being foolish.  Am I to blame a bit for the situation.  Yes.  My intentions were good.  But, I’m a bit to blame.  I know that I sure feel like things are my fault.  I take responsibility here.  But the awesome thing about God is that he never turns away because we make a mistake.  He forgives us, and he cleans up the mess we made.  But we have to move out of the way.

When my kiddos were little that one of them spilled a whole container of food on the floor.  They sat there and cried.  Of course I forgave them.  I was ready to clean up the food.  But I needed them to move out of the mess so I could clean it.  But the kiddo sat in the mess and cried, feeling bad.  The kiddo wasn’t ready to accept my forgiveness or to forgive themselves.  So they sat there, surrounded by a mess; while I stood there watching, waiting for them to be ready to move on and let me help.

That is how God looks at us.  I’ve been sitting in my own mess.  I’ve been planning and hoping on how I could clean it up; while I sit right in the middle of it, stressed, anxious, and upset about the mess I’m sitting in.  A couple days ago, I started working on standing up out of the mess.  It was time to move.  Staying in the mess was hurting me.

Today looks like a good way that God might have to help clean up my mess.  I don’t know for sure yet.  But I do know for sure that I am feeling a lot lighter today than I was a week ago.  Or even a few days ago.

Tonight I am thankful that we never have to stay in the mistakes we’ve made.  God has a way to make all the messes turn around and be a blessing.  That’s what he does.  He is love.  That is what love does; it heals.