Sometimes life can be messy! As a homeschool family, our dining room doubles as our schoolroom and our dining table is the main desk. The tabletop is usually not visible until dinnertime and if anyone were to visit during "school hours" they'd wonder if there was any organization to our day at all!

Life can look a lot like my dining table; daily demands pile up and you can't seem to tidy up the clutter. You call it your organized mess, but even you have a hard time finding things. There are toys to trip over, and dishes waiting to be washed; laundry overflowing in the hamper, weeds over-growing in the yard, our to-do lists seem endless. Sometimes life is a mess!

I don't discourage tidiness at all - I long for an organized home. But maybe we can look at our messy lives through different lenses and instead of being filled with panic, we can be filled with praise!

While reading through Proverbs the other day, I came across Proverbs 14:4. "Where there are no oxen, the manger is clean, but abundant crops come by the strength of the ox." I can imagine that keeping farm animals can get messy; but I also know that a farmer relies on those animals for his living. Therefore, it may not bother him so much to clean up after them.

I think that God is trying to tell me to be thankful for the "oxen" that make the messes!

School books mean my children are learning. Laundry means we have clothes to wear. Dishes means we have food to eat. Toys mean we have fun and enjoyment. Weeds in the yard or leaves in the patio, means we have a home. Life is happening all around us, and sometimes it leaves behind a little clutter.

Thank God today for those messes that fill our home, count the blessings that left them, find the joy in cleaning it up together and be grateful for the abundance we have in Jesus!

Suggested Prayer: Dear Lord, I often allow my mess to become my stress. I get annoyed when I don't feel organized. But, when I take a moment to consider the blessings you have filled my life with, I smile. Thank you, Lord, for the mess you have blessed me with! Allow me to turn it into a reason for praise. In Jesus' name, Amen.

1. Proverbs 14:4 (ESV).

Today's Encounter was written by: Veronica B.