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A
Beautiful Mess
Every year at
Halloween, we drag our fire pit into our driveway and
have a bonfire. We hand out hot apple cider to the
shivering adults while their kids run around and
collect candy. The parade of chaperoning parents
pauses at our driveway and people gather around our
fire pit to warm their hands. A simple popping
crackling fire invites people (including us!) to
connect with each other instead of slipping through
the dark night unnoticed.
After the last trick-or-treater had disappeared, a few
of our close neighbors meandered over and shared a
drink with us around the fire.
When we finally let the embers fade out, I came
inside, surveyed the scene, and smiled. My kitchen
counters were covered with apple cider jugs, bottles,
candy wrappers, and the remnants of dinner. The
kitchen sink was full. The chairs were askew with
coats draped over them. Behold, a mess. A beautiful
mess.
Right then I was struck by what a mess should
represent....it should be evidence, living proof of
your active, rich, tuned-in life.
My smile lingered as I washed dishes, recycled
bottles, and set the laundry on the stairwell to go
upstairs. In an hour or so my kitchen was back to
normal, the dishwasher was humming, and I headed for
bed. You see, in an orderly home, a mess is temporary.
It is recoverable. It is even beautiful if you'll let
yourself think about it that way.
Believe me, I am opening myself up to thinking this
way, too. As I survey my son's toys strewn across the
living room, I am letting myself enjoy the fact that
he is exploring and learning exponentially each day.
The smeared coffee tables and couch pillows on the
floor are proof of his exploding mobility.
As I sort out the seemingly endless mounds of laundry
each weekend I'm trying to think about the events to
which I wore all these clothes and the fun that we
enjoyed together. My husband's dirty work jeans remind
me that I'm married to the handiest man on earth. I
want to toss my son's blankies in the wash more often
this week because he's had a cold. I look at those
piles and I'm thankful that I have hot water and a
washing machine and clean clothes.
Why is it that we spend so much of our lives bemoaning
the messes and chores of life that are simply a
reflection of our blessings?
Perhaps we aren't thinking the right way about our
life. We're hurrying and complaining and irritable.
We're feeling overwhelmed and like we're always
"behind." Maybe if we opened our lives up to a little
pruning (of all that accumulation piling up around us)
and a new perspective, we could set ourselves up to
enjoy our lives a little more.
It is in the disorganized, chaotic home where things
have piled up and archeological layers have begun to
emerge that a mess seems overwhelming. When you never
moved into your home properly or you've got more stuff
than space, that's when things break down. Your home
gets out-of-control when your activities and projects
speed by and no one ever deals with the backlog. If
you've got no systems in place to help you manage your
life, then a mess is just one more distraction and
annoyance in your harried life.
During this holiday season, I invite you to slow down
a bit in order to dig out. Not so you can have a
magazine-worthy home. Not so you can arrive at
perfection. Invest a little time to establish order so
you can make room for the beautiful messes in your
future.
Have a blessed holiday season,
Vicki Norris |
