When we first moved into our house, I was eight months pregnant with our first child. I wasn’t moving very fast – or very much. The house came with two gardens – one of which had beautiful bushes randomly placed through it. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to their placement.

The other garden had two bushes and a bunch of dirt. That dirt turned to mud when it rained.

A nice surprise was that in the spring, nine green plants grew up in three rows, but they quickly died off. Then in late summer, pink flowers on tall stalks shot up in a 3×3 grid. The flowers were gorgeous and smelled beautifully. We learned they were called Resurrection Lilies.

For the rest of the time, that garden was full of dirt. It wasn’t much to look at.

But I had dreams. I had plans. And now…

It’s still a work in progress. I’m modeling this off of an English garden, but it’s fairly small so it won’t be that grand. (Don’t worry about the Resurrection Lilies – they were successfully transplanted to perfect places all around our yard.)

However, my husband and I are proud of it and love it.

This is how God works, too. Our sin, our messes, are like a plain dirt garden. Sometimes we might have something pretty pop up, but even then, we can’t really claim it. In God’s eyes, even the good things we do are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Just like I had dreams and plans for our garden, God has plans for us.

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV) say, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

God knew us before we were born (Jeremiah 1:5). He knows the plans He has for us (Jeremiah 29:11). They are good plans.

Sometimes, because of all the sin in the world, our lives look messy. They feel messy. Let’s be real – they ARE messy! I encourage you to consider the rough patches in your life as an empty dirt garden. God, the gardener, is coming. With beautiful, bright, vibrant flowers, ready to be planted.

Or maybe He’s growing something from seed. God will nurture it in your life and you’ll get to watch it (you!) grow.

However God works, it will be beautiful.

So no matter how hard your life feels – no matter how messy it looks – trust that God is working. You will see beauty from the mess.

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose,” (Romans 8:28, ESV).

If there’s a way I can pray for you while you’re in the dirt, please don’t hesitate to hit that “Contact” button above and let me know what’s on your mind. We’ve all been there, and we’ll all be there again.