A couple of years ago Walmart ran a commercial of a very happy parent walking, almost dancing, through the isles loading her cart with school supplies followed by a very grumpy-looking child. In the background, the music to the song “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” was playing. Not having children in the house at the time I thought it was quite comical as I remembered those times of preparing for the new school year. August is a bit of a transition month. It’s still summer with plenty of relaxing yet to do, but September is coming, and the days are beginning to get a bit shorter. With a new school year, church ministry activities and ministries will soon start up again for another season. Parents trying to get ahead of the game are buying new school supplies and looking at calendar schedules. Children are trying to squeeze the most out of summer vacation before the dreaded new school year begins. Pastors are busy planning Fall preaching schedules. Life can be a mess, at times, and we need to prepare for the mess!

How do you prepare for the mess? What if you are not a super-organized parent in August and you are rushing off to Walmart on the Saturday night before the first day of school trying to find the right pens, binders, backpacks, and other assorted necessities from the already picked-over shelves? What if you are a pastor or ministry leader who is already bearing a heavy load, and free time for planning is nonexistent? What if life is already a mess and you can’t bear the thought of it getting any messier?

Let me suggest three ways you can prepare for the coming mess. First, don’t worry, be happy! “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil. 4:6). Worry and stress are the great thieves of peace, contentment, and health. The apostle Paul commands us to direct our focus on God. Go to Him with all your worry, anxiety, and even the unknown for He knows you! Amid the mess, or even in anticipating the coming mess, we can have joy because of our relationship with Jesus.

Second, look beyond the mess and focus on the right things. I have three granddaughters that live relatively close, and we see them often. The two-year-old and the four-year-old can make quite a mess. Yet, time spent with them playing, reading, eating, and talking together far outweighs any left behind mess that can be cleaned up after they leave. Hebrews 12:2 tells us in part, “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.” Learn to see beyond the mess by having the right focus. Focus not on the mess, or the coming mess, rather focus on the One who is with us in the mess, Jesus!

Finally, hold on to expectations lightly. The danger of expectations whether communicated or uncommunicated always sets us up for failure and disappointment when things don’t go as we’ve planned or expected. Learn to have a greater expectation as the apostle Peter wrote, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Pet. 1:3-5).

We can prepare for the anticipated mess of a new school year, or a visit from little grandchildren, but there are always the unanticipated messes that often surprises us. While we can never fully prepare for the mess we can learn to focus on Jesus and allow our joy to be found in Him rather than our circumstances!

Focusing on Jesus!

Rev. Bill Allan
AGC President

Engage the Mess: Prepare for the mess!