The Messy Bits of Life

"Life is the 'messy bits'" ~ Claire Wyman from Letters to Juliet

This is a comment made by Claire in response to her grandson's remark that it would be nice if her former love had grown from a young man who worked in vineyards to a man that owned them while she got to miss all the "messy bits". Her response made me think (as many do). It's really true. While so often we want to escape the unpleasant bits of life and just have one long, happy life...that isn't real life. That's a fairy tale. Real life involves heartache. Real life involves sweat and tears. It isn't fun all the time, but that's life. And pain builds character; it builds trust in God and humility. If we were to take our life and edit out every unpleasant experience, we would be left with so little. Moreover, if we could skip all the hard work that got us every accomplishment, they would not have near the value that they hold. You don't appreciate something when it's handed to you; it's only when you have to spend something or lose something to gain another when the thing you have gained has value.

So I think Claire is right. Life is the messy bits. And if that man had turned out to be her Lorenzo, I think she would have vastly preferred to be with him every step of his life, all the way through the hardship and pain, than to just pop in at the luxurious end. Speaking as a single woman who has never been married herself, I have observed that most married couples that I know who are close and happy and still in love have endured much together...and that has drawn them closer.

So I recommend that you don't avoid pain and trials! Accept them as experiences that will make you stronger. Take the lessons that the pain brings and grow from them. Don't just run away and hide, for you may be missing something that would have had a tremendous outcome once you got to the other side. You may have become a better person because of it. So don't turn back just because something is hard. Move forward! Nothing worth getting comes easily. If you don't have to work at it, it probably isn't that important to begin with. And if you just take the easy experiences that life hands out and reject the hard, you could be rejecting the greatest gift you would ever receive.

I am not saying pain is easy or fun or that you will rejoice every time it shows its face. I can speak from personal experience to say that it will not be any of the above. What I am saying is that it may be worth it in the end and when you look back on your life years from now, I hope you see your struggles and your pain and see what has resulted. Even if you don't see it now, on this Earth, you will see it in heaven. God is sovereign and He doesn't make mistakes or throw useless experiences into our lives. Every experience counts for something. Pain will mold us as gold is refined in fire. So work your way through the fire - the jewel at the end will be worth it!