This past Saturday we had a family movie night. We got up in the morning and ran some errands, ordered take-out for lunch, and took down the Christmas tree. Then we sat down for an evening of binge-watching movies. After the first two movies my husband pulled a few out that we had not watched in a while. Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty. Now as cheesy as these movies are, I really enjoy them. However, that night they struck me differently. Let me share why.
2020 was a year like no other for all of us. I don’t know anyone who came out of it unscathed in some way. It was a year that we re-evaluated what truly mattered and got us contemplating what we really want in this life. While we are now in a new year the uncertainty and questions from last year still loom. As a family, this hangs in the air for us too.
So, while I watched the main characters in these two movies unfold, I saw pieces of me. Bruce thought that once he got the anchor position that everything would be perfect, that life would all fall into place but when things don’t work out the way he planned he crumbles. He is so hyper focused on his plans that he is missing out on what truly matters. It isn’t until God gives him his powers for a few days that he realizes what really matters and what he wants. For Evan he seems to think he has everything that brings happiness. The new job with a big paycheck, a fancy new car, a large house, and a family to boot. However, he is so wrapped up in this new life that he starts to forget what really matters God and his family. His world gets turned upside down when God asks him to be obedient and do his will. Not what the world wants but what God wants.
Both characters looked good on the outside but had a whole lot of messy going on. While I realize both movies are fiction it brought a lot to mind for me. As God talked to these two men, I was reminded just how much God loves each of us. How he just wants to have a relationship with us and wants us to use the gifts and talents he has given us.
Let’s be honest though that is hard even under normal circumstances but especially difficult in the messy. As I contemplated this, I felt God pressing a few things on my heart. What if we let God use us exactly where we are, right in our Messy and Brokenness? What if while we are asking him to heal us, we also ask him to use us to Glorify him? What if each day we just focus on loving others really well, all while picking up our crosses?
So, as we finish up this first month of 2021 let’s pick up our crosses and let God use us right where we are. Allowing him in our messy so that we can help others through theirs. Embracing all that life has to offer and focusing on all God has to offer us. So slow down and see that there is so much beauty in the messy.