Spilled Coffee

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and blessed holiday season.

I started Student Teaching on Monday and let me tell you how my first day began. I made sure I got up in plenty of time so I did not have to rush around. Everything went without a hitch until I walked out the door with two to-go cups of coffee…one stacked on top of the other (rookie mistake, I know). You can probably imagine what happened next. I bent down and one spilled all down the front of my shirt. After some consideration, instead of running inside to change my shirt, I just decided to laugh it off and roll with it, mess and all. You see, this is not the first time this has happened to me. Honestly, I cannot count how many times I have texted my friends to let them know I spilled coffee down my shirt..again…just in case they were wondering. On Monday morning, one of them replied, “at least things are normal.” Thanks pal.

Now, I did not tell you that fun little anecdote just for kicks and giggles; I actually have a point. Not only do I literally spill coffee (or any other beverage…or ice cream) on myself on the regular, spilled coffee serves as a metaphor for life. So many times, my friends look at me and say, “Steph, you’re a mess.” Yes, Yes I am, but guess what? WE ALL ARE! Regardless of what people try to convince themselves or each other, life is not perfect. In fact, it is pretty darn messy. Life is messy because people are complicated and broken and sinful and make mistakes. PEOPLE ARE MESSY. I make far bigger messes than spilling coffee down my shirt; I don’t love people as well as I should, I say things that I shouldn’t, I hurt others from time to time, I have been hurt; I screw up on the regular. The good news for us though, is that we have a Father who loves us unconditionally, even in our brokenness; even in the midst of our mess.

Whether you are a physical mess that people can see, like I so often am, or you’re one of those people that appears to have it all together, but you feel like your life is falling apart around you, that is okay. You know why? Because we have a God who loves us no matter what. Psalm 36:7 says, “How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.” Think about that for a second. The word steadfast is defined as, “resolutely or dutifully firm and unwavering.” His love is the sturdiest kind of love. We can make mistake after mistake, create mess after mess, but His love for us will never end.  Romans 8:38-39 further confirms this notion by stating, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Not even death can separate us from the love of Christ, which means that NOTHING, not even the biggest mess or mistake can separate us from Him. To me, that is so empowering.

Louie Giglio said, “our mess is the canvas on which God paints His story of redemption.” To me, that is such a beautiful image. God can take our mess and our brokenness and create a profoundly remarkable story out of it. That gives me so much hope and I want you to feel that hope, too.

My advice to you is, “be messy and complicated and afraid and show up anyway,” Unknown. We can do this because of the unfailing love of our Heavenly Father. Because of Him, I am able to embrace the "spilled coffee" moments, learn from my mistakes, both big and small, and strive to be a little less of a mess, with His guidance of course.

Yours Truly,

Steph