A Hot Mess and the Only Way

I filled up the paper cups at the water fountain and carried them over to where my husband and our friends were sitting in the Urgent Care waiting room. I had to be helpful in some way, try to make the terrible situation a little bit better. It was my fault we were there, after all.

Shortly after half-forcing our friends to drink their tiny cups of water, the nurse called my husband back to be seen by the doctor. I wheeled JP to a room, anxiously awaiting the results of his injury.

What started as a friendly game of pickup soccer in the field by our house had quickly turned disastrous.  

The score was tied and as it was fast approaching time to join our family for Easter dinner, we had to up the stakes.

Next goal wins.

The teams were girls versus boys so we girls had a lot to prove, and being slightly competitive, I had to win. Losing wasn’t even on my radar. JP had the ball down by my team’s net, so I sprinted toward him. I could not let my own husband be the cause of the girls losing. Just as I went to kick the ball away from him, he turned his hip and leg toward me to block me from kicking the ball.

I was already mid-kick… My foot did not collide with the ball; it collided with the back of his calf and swept his leg out. Down he fell with a crack, a crunch, and a pop.

As I was driving him to Urgent Care, I had to pull over because I was crying so hard I could not see the road. I had never felt so terrible, sorry and fully responsible as I did in that moment. The weight of my mistake, although it was an accident, was unbearably heavy.

Have you ever felt that stuck? Hopefully you haven’t sent anyone to Urgent Care, but perhaps you’ve been in a situation where there was nothing you could do to make things better? Or have you been completely at fault and deserving of all the blame?

Moments like these remind us that we are not invincible; that we missed the mark by more than a mile and we can’t dig ourselves out of the pit.

Last week we talked about the need to make room in our lives and hearts for what is most important – Jesus.

But what is so good about Him anyway? Why is He worth making room for?

Perhaps you’ve heard that Jesus’ way is better than ours, that He can help us, and that He can make our lives better.

Is that why He’s so important? Is that it, that He can make our lives better?

I’m glad you asked!

Life with Jesus is better than life without Him, but what is so good about Jesus is more than that.

Picture the world before Jesus arrived as a newborn baby. The world was spiritually dead, separated from God. People were lost, purposeless, and either striving (and failing) to keep the multitude of laws, or slaves to every desire, painfully ignorant of God’s existence.

The world couldn’t be right with God or have access to Him, they couldn’t experience everything that God is and brings, because sin kept them in darkness. They didn’t even know what they were missing, but their current way of life left them feeling empty and unsatisfied.

Just at that moment when darkness was engulfing everything, creeping in like a cold shadow, the source of light burst forth like the glorious morning sun, eliminating the darkness. Jesus Christ was born, the One who brought life to the walking dead.

“In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind,” (John 1:4).

Life comes from Jesus; He is the source.  Without Him, there is no life, only death. If we understood the implications of this, how might it transform our lives?

Before Jesus was born as a baby, the world was spiritually dead. The world was in darkness, and humanity could do anything to change that.

The Bible, in John chapter one, tells us that the life that was in Jesus was the “light of all mankind” (verse 4) and that “the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it” (verse 5). We get a glimpse into the state of the world and peoples’ hearts when Jesus entered it. There was darkness in the world, and peoples’ hearts were dead. People were living, but they didn't know the abundant life Jesus would bring.

Before Jesus, there was no option. Humanity was held captive to their sin. But through Jesus alone, there is hope for those of us who get ourselves into situations we can't fix, similar to the predicament I found myself in at Urgent Care. 

There is a better way, and it is available to anyone who wants it, who surrenders control of their life and trusts God's way. 

When we realize that there is no life apart from Jesus, it seems pretty silly for us to try and dig ourselves out of the messes we find ourselves in.

When we still think we can handle things on our own, we don't let God have His way. But when we stop for a moment, confess that we can’t do a single thing about the state of our hearts, and ASK God for help, He will do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine.

Jesus is not the best; He is the only.

In John 14:5 Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus is the only way to God, to life overflowing, and to resting in perfect love. He is everything we need and He alone will satisfy our restless souls.

Making room for Jesus is worth it every single time because we can’t do it without Him. When we make space in our hearts for Him, He fills that void with Himself until He spills over into every area of our lives and the lives of those around us.

JP on the left with our equally injury-prone brother-in-law, Brad.

An x-ray and MRI later revealed the extent of JP’s knee injury – a fractured patella.

I couldn’t fix his knee, take the pain away, undo the injury, or make up for feeling like I was the worst wife ever. I had to accept defeat and admit that I couldn’t do anything to undo the past. But I didn’t have to sit in that shame – as I turned my helplessness and pain over to love Himself, He covered my inadequacy and filled the void.

Will you take a chance on the giver of life and trust that He is worth making room for?

I have never been disappointed by making room in my heart and letting God fill my heart. 

I trust you won't be either.