Have you ever looked at your life and wondered how you could fix the mess you made? That happened to me, when I was a young adult. At 24-years old, my life was such a mess I couldn’t imagine any way to sort it out. Married to a man, I didn’t love. Crazy about an international playboy who had warned me not to fall in love with him. No doubt his lifestyle could devastate me and my little boy. I was in way over my head. And, I had no clue what to do with my circumstances.

A Mess Too Big to Fix

If you’re interested in finding out what happened, you can read that riveting story in The Windblown Girl: A Memoir about Self, Sexuality, and Social Issues. Regardless, even the most boring existence can be a messed up life that needs hope. Mine was before I took matters into my own hands while on a cruise with my mother. My family had expectations I couldn’t meet. My humdrum job didn’t matter to me. Neither did my husband, yet I craved a family. The future seemed bleak. Then, I made the situation worse. Much worse.

Yet, one dark night while on that cruise ship, as I sat alone by the pool, Jesus came to me in the form of Truth. My Creator brought a glimmer of hope into the midst of my mess.

The Reason for the Season

Jesus brought hope to each one of us when He left all the splendor of heaven to come into this dark world. He came to offer a Way out of the sin that defeats us and leads to death. Although few are willing to embrace the concept, our Savior offers this incredible Hope to everyone–even me. Even you. Right in the midst of our mess.

He wasn’t just the babe born in a manger; Jesus Christ is the Creator, the One who hung the stars in the sky. The One who made you and me. He knows us better than we know ourselves. Psalm 139:13 says: 

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb.

From conception, our God knows us intimately. Our propensity to sin is no surprise to Him. Nor is there any mess too big for Him to turn it into a work of art.

From A Mess to a Masterpiece

Most artists start with some kind of mess. Have you ever seen a potter working with clay? Sometimes she’ll start to make one thing, then she squishes it down and decide to make another. As the wheel spins an ooey-gooey mass, it may look like a mess with zero potential for something useful or of value.

My book was like that. Early versions were a mess of clay that needed molding and shaping. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get the words right. But I kept working at it as Jesus kept giving me hope that He’d turn that rough draft into something worthwhile. His transformational power inspired me as I witnessed 2021’s harsh realities–COVID, civil unrest, American helpers in Afghanistan with wives and children left behind to face the Taliban, a devastating earthquake in Haiti followed by a fierce tropical storm. Everywhere we looked, life was a terrible mess.

But Jesus, the Master Creator, shows up in the worst of times. Seeing the Hope He brings, the pieces of my story started taking on shape and form until they were no longer a mess but a story I could be proud of.

This Christmas, I’m thrilled to anticipate the ways my Creator, my Savior, and Lord turned my mess into hope for those who take the time to read The Windblown Girl. My prayer is that readers will see how no matter what kind of mess you’ve made of your past, Jesus can turn your present into a mountain of gifts under your Christmas tree. Comfort. Peace. Joy. Hope. They’re there. Can you see them? All it takes is the willingness to open the package of salvation and take in the greatest gift ever given.

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