Children know how to make messes. This is my thought process as I’m clearing the living room of toy debris. But don’t we all make a mess every now and then…
I’ll never believe that humanity is inherently good. The mess shows up too clearly. And early. There will never be a child born who will not, at some point, make a huge mess. It’s inevitable.
It would not surprise me if the preborn attended a college course in making messes at some point during their nine-month wait. Then they go guns blazing once they’re here. We’re always cleaning up after them.
Now, I am not your extreme clean guru. Thanks to my wife, I’m more concerned than I ever have been about making sure the trash makes it to the bin in a more timely manner. However, I AM an extreme anti-germ aficionado. I know how to get rid of germs. I used to carry Clorox wipes around with me. I’d wash my hands approximately 497 times a day. I’d use a paper towel to open the door afterward. I still practice good hygiene, but it isn’t extreme. Now I don’t have to wash my hands every hour, but I still use hand sanitizer after pumping gas. (No one ever cleans those handles, in case you didn’t know.) I use hand sanitizer after handling Walmart carts. And after shaking hands with people (no offense fellow Christians). And after touching handrails. And after opening doors. Then I wash my hands when I get near a sink. And do it twice. Anyway…
Can you imagine living in a home that was never cleaned? I can’t watch a TV show that highlights a hoarder’s life. It will give me nightmares. Paper and trash are strewn about all over the floor, and they’re barely able to walk into a room…there are infestations of small creatures…you get the idea.
But sometimes messes are just a part of life. You’re just going along, minding your own business, then something unexpected happens.
In a perfect world, messes would never happen.
There’s an old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
In an almost perfect world, the “clean-uppers” would sense a mess is about to happen and would show up to prevent it from happening, but since Captain Marvel doesn’t exist in real life, that rarely ever happens.
(Now, I’m not downplaying the hand of God in people’s lives. This post isn’t focusing on all of that. We all know that life can get messy sometimes, for whatever reason. We’ll not discuss the what-ifs.)
So since our world isn’t perfect, messes exist.
They inevitably happen in life. We can’t seem to get away from them.
A wreck on Highway 19 recently claimed a wife and momma from her family. At some point this past year, somebody’s cancer didn’t succumb to chemotherapy or surgery. Some children are being abused at this very moment. Wars and riots are happening. Marriages are failing. Messes.
Since messes happen, cleanup must happen also.
Since we can’t predict a life mess, and since we live in a messed up world, I want to be a part of the cleanup crew.
When a natural disaster, such as a hurricane or tornado, devastates a city, people come from all over to assist in the cleanup. They offer whatever is needed. Some people want to help, but they can’t go to the city, so they will offer to send money or supplies.
They restore, they rebuild, and they clean up debris.
When a child is rescued from their abuser, they need a clean-up crew to help restore their faith and trust in humanity.
When a parent passes away, the family needs people to provide comfort and let them know that we’re here to help in any way we can.
When cancer keeps holding on, we need to offer prayer and support however we can.
Messes require those who can come in and help after the initial impact. When a disaster occurs in someone’s life (it doesn’t matter how it happened), we must help.
Not all of us can help in every situation, but all of us can help in some.
If you need prayer, I’m here. If you need money, I’ve got five or ten bucks. You might want to hit up someone else for a gold mine.
But all of us joining together as one great big clean-up crew can work wonders in people’s lives. I want to be a part of the solution: the cleanup crew for life’s messes.
to those who know of a life mess or two,
– Caleb
caneymountainblog.com 