When we got together for a family party, the focal point of our meal was a chocolate fountain. You can imagine, the kids ate all their vegetables in anticipation of dipping their favorite things in chocolate. They’d have dipped their vegetables, but their parents said “No”!
We enjoyed a great meal together, shared gifts, watched the cousins perform and generally celebrated being together. And then it was time for Round 2 of chocolate. As a couple of us approached the fountain, suddenly chocolate began to spew — onto clothes, suede boots, white subway tile and grout, hardwood floors, across the room — it spewed to places chocolate should never be allowed!
Every one of us was stunned. It was the first time the Burgett family was speechless! There was a moment frozen in time, where no one moved…all 15 of us just stared in amazement.
Finally, one of the guys reached over and pulled the plug and the fountain eventually ceased its spinning. And then the action kicked in. I remember the first words: “Kids, go upstairs!” All seven of them marched up without any argument whatsoever.
And all 8 adults commenced to cleaning. And it took 8 adults an hour and a half to get that chocolate cleaned up! You see, when the chocolate cools down, it hardens…wherever it lands! Well, that incident certainly changed the tone of our party! In 3.5 seconds, we moved from happy celebration to intense work.
I posted it on FaceBook and someone commented, “Beautiful Mess”. When Haley was staring with both hands holding her face, the rest of us gawking in disbelief, I don’t think the word “beautiful” was top of mind — we were not seeing” beautiful”. What we saw was “mess”. Chocolate on the white grout, the quartz countertop and the wood floor had not been in anyone’s plans — EVER!!
But that’s what happens when a chocolate fountain gets off-balance. It spins out of control and it spews. Sometimes life spins out of control…rarely do we “plan” chaotic messes. Yet we “get” to clean them up after they hit.
The Apostle Paul found himself in a mess pretty often. Here’s his perspective:
“We ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down but we are not destroyed. Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-10
The treasure of the gospel of Jesus is currently contained within the broken lives of those who are redeemed. When God’s Glory shines through the brokenness of our lives, it is recognized as His Power, not ours. Our place in the Family of God insures our security for eternity. Paul’s hope was not in the peace & security of this life. What got Paul thru the suffering of his life was the resurrection of Jesus Christ! He willingly suffered in order to produce spiritual growth in those he served.
Before our chocolate fountain became a fiasco it served as a source of anticipation and pleasure. Once it spewed, we all pulled together to clean up the mess. We knew the area could be restored, & we made a memory together. I guess you really can call that a Beautiful Mess.
Next time life gets messy, let’s move through the mess allowing the light of God’s Glory to shine into the darkness of the messy.