A Beautiful Mess

When I look at a photo, I never look to see what hairs I need to Photoshop out. I never look at the wrinkles on a grandmother and think about making her skin smoother. Rarely do I not include a photo because there is a sun spot glaring through the image. I don't exclude the images where the kids aren't being as cooperative as they could be. 

I look at the hairs blowing across a child's face and I see the wind that blew them there. I see the wrinkles on a grandmother and I see the laughter that brought them there. I see the sun spot and I think of the dimension it creates and the beauty it gives to my art. I see the grumpy looks and I think...

This is just, well, LIFE. 

Life is full of imperfections. It's full of messy hair, messy faces, bad moods, good moods, wrinkles and scars. We are imperfect people living in an imperfect world. 

I think that's why I like the Gospel so much. Jesus loves me no matter how imperfect I am. No matter how messy my hair is. No matter how much PB & J I have left on my kids faces. No matter if I lost my temper today, or whether everyone got along perfectly. Nothing I do changes what He has already done. Nothing I do changes the fact that in all of my imperfection - when I was His enemy (Romans 5:10) - Christ still died for me. He did not ask me to be perfect or even try first. He just asked me to believe that He died for me and that I needed him to. I needed a Savior.  I could do nothing on my own - especially obtain salvation. I still can't do anything on my own. I still need a Savior.

This is the truth I need every moment of every day. I need to know that whether I meet my own expectations today or not, I am always met with a Savior who sees me for what I am and loves me still. I need to know that Jesus sees through the hair, the fake smile, the dirt, the hurt and the pain and will never let me go. Just as he faithfully came to die for my sins, he faithfully lives with me through His Spirit to grow me and change me to look more like him. 

So, I look at an imperfect picture and I see Jesus. I see His ability to look through the mess that I am and see me - His creation. His child. His beloved.

"Who then can bring accusation against God's elect? God is the one who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised

to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?... No, in

all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 8:33-35,37-39