Love Messes

'Tis the day after Christmas and all through the house … is a mess, and, we didn't even have Christmas here!

Everywhere I look I see signs of love … let me explain!

The mess in the kitchen reminds me of all the food I cooked over the past few days to share with children and grandchildren and friends. The dirty dishes, empty trays, and leftovers remind me of the love we shared sitting at a table enjoying the seasonal delicacies.

The mess in the living room reminds me of the gifts I wrapped … scraps of wrapping paper, scotch tape, gift tags, scissors, bags of ribbon, empty rolls of paper. What a delight! I look at them and can envision the looks on the children's faces as they opened their gifts and jumped up to throw their arms around us with hugs and kisses. "Thank you, Nana! Thank you, Papa!"

The mess in the bathroom reminds me of our hurried frenzy to get ready and on the road so we could spend every minute possible with our family. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are special to this family because of exactly that … family!

The mess in the bedroom reminds me that I've gained weight and can't comfortably wear what I'd planned. Oops, that's not one of the better memories, except that it's a sign of being blessed when I consider our friends and ministry partners overseas who live with so little. It's humbling to even consider why God chose to allow us the privilege of living in these United States—a country of abundant blessing!

The mess in the hallway reminds me of how tired we are after two full days of travel and family and friends and food and fellowship and fun. We came through the door late last night, kicked off our shoes, dropped our coats on the nearest chair and came in to sit down with a bowl of popcorn (like we really needed it!!!) and a movie one of the kids bought for us. While enjoying each other in the quietness of our home, we realized how blessed we are!

Yes, love messes. But there's nothing better than love messes. They're what makes family so worth it all. And, it gives me an excuse not to clean it up since every thing out of place is a reminder of the love we share this Christmas.

Maybe I'll just let the love messes linger one more day!

©Jan Ross
All Rights Reserved