For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  Hebrews 4:12

My husband has been wanting a new set of knives for years.  I couldn’t figure out why.  After all, I’m the one who does most of the cooking in our house.  I was proud just to have a knife set, albeit the cheapest one available more than a dozen years ago.  Sure, one of the blades comes off and the tip broke off another, but they worked for me.  Or so I thought. 

My mother-in-law gave us a new set for Christmas.  Saturday morning I skeptically pulled a knife from the block, believing the new would perform just as well as the old.  Was I wrong.  My arms didn’t tire out from needing to use brute force as an onion split apart in fear of the new weapon.  Everything I chopped succumbed to the sharp edges of the cold steel.  I quickly realized that my husband was right.  My old knives were awful.  They didn’t start out that way, but twelve years of use had their effect.   

The same is true in my life.  I have coping patterns, behaviors and attitudes that I’ve used for years.  Perhaps they were advantageous at first, but not any more.  Like my dulled set of knives, the progression of beneficial to worthless was gradual and I never noticed it.

We’ll be cutting through some great topics such as love, forgiveness, sacrifice and joy in the coming year.  It is my hope that they won’t just be words on a page.  I pray they’ll penetrate into our lives, slashing through our old ways and transforming us more into the likeness of our Creator. 

    Don’t just listen to Krista, Michele and me.  Pull out your knife, the word of God, and let it penetrate your marrow. 

For years I’ve complained.

Whined. Argued. Questioned. Even pouted in a corner with a generous bottom lip turned out from time to time. I’d imagined my life simpler. Planned it up big and beautiful, absent of most every complication and hiccup, with life’s every “i” dotted and “t” crossed. But then this and that happened, interrupting my imaginings of simplicity with something far more messy.

By the way, I don’t do “messy” well. I’m much more comfortable with neat rows of “perfect” and nice stacks of “predictable.” Messy is … well, a mess.

I picture Mary as someone who longed for the simplicity of family life, as well. Taking long walks dreaming up her future, imagining the man she’d one day marry and the children she’d one day birth. But then a Messenger of Heaven came with a messy memo. And Mary’s dream of a simple life vanished before the vision of angel did.

Here’s where my similarities with Mary end. For while I chose to pout and whine, Mary resolved to accept it.

“I am the Lord’s servant … May it be to me as you have said.” ~ Luke 1:38

Though Mary experienced the privilege of giving birth to the Son of God, she never tasted the simplicity of an ordinary life. From the first moment sparks of divine life took shape in her womb, Mary faced visiting strangers, threatening kings, gossiping neighbors, questioning church leaders, whispering friends, and more responsibility than two young shoulders are equipped to carry.

“I am the Lord’s servant … May it be to me as you have said.”

Resolved worship from a submitted heart primed her for a messy life.

“Perfect” and “predictable” were no longer a part of the equation. But I doubt she viewed it as her equation at all. It was GOD’S equation to resolve, and she believed He would make the math work.

And that’s the secret to finding peace in a messy life: Allowing the Prince of Peace to dot all “i’s” and cross all “t’s.”

Even if it takes two arms and the beam of a cross.

Ahh. The perfect plan for a messy people.