Grace in the mess

Tonight around the dinner table we were talking about unconditional love. You know that kind of super natural love that only comes from God and allows you to love others even in the midst of the mess. I started thinking about how that love gets reflected in everyday relationships and I thought of this story. 

About a week ago my little brother came home from college to spend Easter weekend with us and celebrate his birthday which happened to fall on his break. We had a bunch of his friends over and with the leadership of my dad, the mastermind chef, we were putting together a great meal. 

Due to some quantity issues and some last minute adjustments my dad asked me to whip up some stir fry sauce. It was getting close to the time that everything else was ready and so I started to get flustered and hurry. I was dumping things in and feeling sorry for myself that no one was helping me as I got more and more anxious about getting the sauce done "in time." I couldn't find one of the ingredients, chicken broth, and when I did it was in a 32 oz can and all I needed was a quarter cup. It was the last thing to go in and I quickly tried to pour it in only to succeed in pouring it all over the table and the floor. I exploded a little then myself and starting banging things around in my frustration, and complaining out-loud now that I didn't have anyone helping me. 

Instead of telling me to snap out of it (which I would have deserved), or to stop blaming others for your spills and mistakes (which I also would have deserved), my sister & brother stepped over and gently took over my sauce-making disaster. My brother stirred up the sauce and my sister wiped up the mess. 

When I took a deep breath and turned to apologize, I kissed my sister and said,  "Thank you for cleaning up my mess." They both looked me in the eye and said "We love you, Megs." 

It struck me today that that is how Christ loves us. He wants us to ask for help, but even when we don't and we make a mess of things, He steps in to clean it up and to redeem even our mistakes. And why? Because He loves us. He did not choose us because our great might or strength, He chose us because He loves us. He is not surprised when we fail, nor does His grace ever find an end. He loves us even in the mess!